#I set an alarm this year 🥳

[neptuneiris]

could you pretend to be in love? (02/10)

The Contract

pairing: modern!aemond × fem!reader (fake dating)

summary: there is no turning back now and now you and Aemond set the rules and conditions to start the whole farce.

word count: 4.6k

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HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!🥳

I thought this would be a very nice way to wish happy new year to all of you beautiful people who support me and like what I write, you don't know how much that means to me🥺

thank you for so much support and for so much love, I have loved being here and I definitely plan to stay for longer, seeing how that love evolves and my place here as a writer🥰 so enjoy a lot this new chapter that I really hope you like it a lot❤

many blessings to all of you, my best wishes for your lives in this 2024, I love you all so much!😊❤

enjoy!

It's the first thing you see after turning off the alarm and you curiously enter to read the recent messages from an unknown number, not having the slightest idea of who it might be.

But you let out a long sigh of frustration when you read them and see that it's Aemond, who you don't understand how the fuck he got your number. Of course, it shouldn't have been hard for him, just a few questions and anyone can tell him what he wants to know.

And knowing that you have a long day ahead of you today, you already feel the pressure all over your body when you haven't even left your bed, where you also feel the frustration and all this uncertainty that you thought you had already overcome, but no.

You barely accepted yesterday and suddenly putting the plan into action from one day to the next, it's too much. But without really having a choice, you reluctantly force yourself to get up and start getting ready.

After an hour, you leave your house with the nagging feeling of carrying a weight on your shoulders to school. And all the way there, not even the music in your ears can make your mind calm down for a moment.

Knowing very soon that your whole social life will be a mess and you will no longer be invisible, since after all Aemond was right in that respect, causes you even more uneasiness and also nervousness because you are going to pretend to be the girlfriend of the most popular guy in school.

And once the bus makes its stop, you soon enter the halls of the bustling school. And knowing that a certain silver-haired guy is waiting for you right now, every heavy step you take towards the schoolyard echoes loudly in your ears, increasing your nervousness and anxiety.

You're even tempted to back up and tell him to forget it, but you resist and keep moving forward.

As you walk through the huge doors of the backyard, it's only a matter of time before you make out the figure of Aemond sitting at the same table as yesterday in the distance. Your heart skips a beat and you feel more nervous, but gathering your courage and taking a long breath, you advance towards him, ready but with uncertain steps.

Every step seems heavy, as if you are walking into the unknown and you try to hide the nerves in your gaze, especially when Aemond notices your presence. He watches you and slowly turns to you, a subtle smile on his lips.

Again there is that feeling of telling him to forget it, to find someone else, that you can't do this. But... your mind stops you and screams at you not to be silly, that at the end of it all there will be a reward, a very good reward that getting it by faking a relationship with him, is nothing.

And it's definitely worth it.

So resigned, you reach out to him.

"Hey," he says to you without wiping off his little smile, as you take a seat in front of him and he waits for you to finish settling in, "So you've come."

"Don't bother me," you tell him without humor, definitely contrasting his mood to yours.

"Now what did I do?"

"That," you point to his face, "You're enjoying this, seeing that I haven't backed out."

"Oh, please, I actually thought you wouldn't come and tell me to fuck off after you thought better of it," he justifies himself.

"Yeah? Well, nothing a free admission to your dream college won't do," you say with a slightly sarcastic tone, though implicitly admitting your reasons, "And it's actually not like I like skipping classes, so could we get this started?"

Aemond exhales long, averting his gaze from yours for a moment before returning to watching you.

"You know you'll have to be charming and act like you're completely in love with me in public, right?" he poses, expectantly.

"Yes, I know... in public," you point out to him, "Just now no one knows we're 'dating' genius," you add, underlining the falsity of the situation.

He places a small, amused, smirk on his lips.

"Yet."

He adds with a slightly defiant tone and you roll your eyes.

"Don't get too excited either."

"Are you not?"

"Oh yeah, I can't handle the excitement," you feign in a high-pitched, ironic voice, making exaggerated hand gestures.

Aemond lets out a short but genuine laugh at your gesture. He leans back slightly, his eye revealing a mischievous glint as he watches you.

"Glad to see you're keeping your sense of humor in this," he says with his tone changing slightly to a more relaxed one.

"I don't have much choice, do I?" you reply, accepting his change of mood, but still maintaining a certain emotional distance.

You figure it's just a matter of the two of you getting more into trust, and if you're going to do this with him, you're definitely going to do your part. But for now, this is still a little awkward and unexpected. And the sooner you do this, the better it will be for you.

So you shift your focus and lean forward slightly with a more serious expression on your face.

"So let's get started?"

"Well, making a contract will take up a lot of our time, so I thought it would be easier to just say and agree between us-

"It will be easier this way, to write down and establish the rules and the conditions we want to do during all this, just to have everything clear and not miss anything, Aemond," you interrupt him, taking out a notebook and a pen to start writing.

"Okay, fine," he says, shrugging his shoulders.

"So?" you watch him expectantly with the blank sheet of paper in front of you and your pen in hand, "What do you suggest first?"

"Well... first we need to know when this will all end," he begins to say, adopting a relaxed but firm stance, "And I would say that it may end when it is no longer necessary for both of you to continue pretending. But I think it's a better idea for us to last until graduation."

He proposes, looking at you intently, waiting for your reaction and you can't help but be a little surprised to hear that.

"Until graduation?" you repeat and he nods, "But you really want to do this for almost five months?"

"I know it's a long time, but that time can be beneficial for both of us," he explains, "That's enough time to give our relationship credibility and authenticity and it's also enough time to handle any problems that arise."

He says and you nod cautiously, evaluating his words.

"But if you disagree, tell me," he hurries to say.

His calm tone and your reasons contrast with the uncertainty and indecision you feel. And the two of you have barely started.

Five months is such a compromising situation and it generates some concern, because you know you will face so many things you still have no idea about and every day it could become more complicated to maintain the farce.

"I guess it's okay," you cautiously admit, trying to see the big picture, "But I feel like it's still a long time. But also reducing that time might not be enough," you agree.

"Yes but I'm sure we can handle it. And don't worry, if at some point we feel it's too much or we don't have enough reason to keep pretending anymore, we can talk iand end it."

You remain pondering, considering his words and after a few seconds you nod in agreement, and write it down as the first point on the sheet. But this alone is the first piece of a much more complicated puzzle.

1. Duration of relationship: Until graduation.

And Aemond also brings up the next point of the contract, expressing his ideas with quiet but evident assurance.

"Now, second..." he begins, "As for behavior in public, we should genuinely show affection in the hallways, cafeteria, and at any school activity and event. In a relationship people don't take their hands off each other, so we should smile at each other, hug each other, make subtle gestures, hold hands-

"Don't say kissing, please," you interrupt him, pleading, taking him by surprise.

"Of course, Y/N," he tells you instantly, incredulous, "Obviously we'll have to kiss."

As if having to act completely in love with him and be every moment touching him isn't enough. But the idea of kissing seems a bit much to you.

"I agree about showing affection and all that, but that kissing thing might be awkward and... weird," you say, trying to be sincere but not seeming completely closed off to the idea.

Aemond looks at you incredulously.

"So you don't want us to kiss?"

"I don't think it's necessary, honestly."

"Are you crazy? How are we supposed to pretend if we're not going to kiss? No one's going to believe us if we don't kiss and that's what will literally make the whole relationship believable," he insists, visibly concerned.

"Yeah, I get that it might seem necessary, but...at least I don't want to be having to kiss you every single time."

"You don't want to kiss me?" he asks you, visibly surprised, confused and... maybe a little hurt?

You watch him silently for a moment not understanding his reaction and then watch him with a small amused smile.

"I'm not one of your fans, Targaryen."

"Oh come on, everyone wants to kiss me," he says confused and incredulous, proving his point.

"Even the guys?"

"Well... yeah, I don't know, maybe some of them," he says with a shrug.

"Seven Hells," you mutter, averting your gaze for a moment, "I-I really don't want to do that," you say, speaking seriously and then you let out a sigh, "But you're right that no one's going to believe us-

"Obviously. I always have," he is quick to say.

"So my proposal is this... we'll kiss, yes, but only when it's extremely necessary, and when I say extremely necessary I mean extremely necessary."

You watch him intently, keeping yourself willing with your proposal, waiting for his opinion, which judging by his face, he doesn't quite agree with.

"And what would those extremely necessary moments be exactly?" he inquires, attentive and interested, also still looking slightly worried.

"In the cafeteria or in the hallways when everyone is obviously looking at us and we're attracting attention. Just don't abuse it."

Aemond lets out a long breath.

"Well, let's limit them to extremely necessary moments," he finally says resignedly and you quickly note the second point.

2. Behavior in public: Show affection as genuinely as possible in public, such as gestures, hugs, and holding hands. KISSING ONLY WHEN EXTREMELY NECESSARY.

"But then that second point is also going to apply to the parties you'll be going to with me and my lacrosse games you'll be going to."

You quickly raise your gaze to him.

"What?"

"Yes," he nods, "Going to the parties together will also lend credibility to the relationship and obviously we have to be very close to each other. And it's the same in my games, you must go to support and encourage me, like any girlfriend in love with her boyfriend would."

Aemond's words provoke an instant reaction in you, that confusing you and taking you by surprise.

"But I don't go to parties."

"Now you will," he says with a calm expression, reaching out his hand and taking the pen and your notebook.

"But-

He is already writing in a section further down the sheet which he lists as; 'additional conditions'.

Parties.

Lacrosse games.

"Aemond, I'm not a big fan of parties, really," you insist, "You'll have a bad time if you take me with you and I'll probably ruin everything."

"Don't worry, I'll teach you the trick to having a good time and change that mentality you have. Besides I won't take you to every party, just a few," he assures you, "All while keeping up appearances," he hands you back your notebook and pen, "With me you'll never get bored, I promise," he says with a small smile on his lips.

You let out a sigh, placing the notebook back in front of you, still undecided.

"Yes? Well, we'll see about that. I warned you though."

He lets out a soft little laugh.

"Come on Y/N, you can't be that bad."

"I assure you I can be."

"And so what do you do for fun?" he asks you, keeping his smile, curiosity evident in his gaze.

And there it is, the question that totally describes your personality and that in fact you don't like to answer to just anyone, because then they call you boring. But you can't lie to Aemond, he is astute enough and would notice.

So you decide to be honest.

"I like to read," you reply, lowering your gaze and feeling slightly embarrassed, "And I love going to the movies or watching movies and shows at home, either one is totally fine with me. Oh... and... hm... I also like ice skating, although I don't do that as often but... it's something I like too."

And even though it's only a bit of the world of things you like, Aemond listens to you attentively with a soft expression, saying nothing afterwards, as if he's processing every word you've said, while you only feel more embarrassed by the silence.

You know there's nothing wrong with it but it always made you insecure to share your hobbies, mostly because you know that many girls your age enjoy their teenage years going out with friends to parties and getting drunk.

That didn't and doesn't appeal to you now. You have long been more comfortable with the idea of staying home or going out somewhere else instead of going to parties.

It's not as if you don't attend or avoid every social event, yes you can attend and have a good time depending on who you are with and where, but not as often as every weekend.

However, you understand and recognize the logic behind Aemond's suggestion and that is that attending parties, is essential. And just as he is about to finally speak, you do so first.

"I know they are simple things and are not very exciting for most people. I also know they can be very boring but for me... that's what I like," you shyly confess.

"Hm," he says, taking a small moment, watching you softly, only causing you even more embarrassment, "Well, that's not what I was going to say," he says, catching your attention, "Sometimes it is the simple things that mean the most to everyone and, being honest... I find them interesting," he adds, trying to evaporate any awkwardness and embarrassment you might feel.

You raise your gaze, meeting his bright blue eye watching you softly and with his gaze full of genuine understanding, along with that hint of curiosity. And that gets your attention too.

He's not judging you. And even though it's not something he would do or at least hasn't tried to do yet, he's not judging you for it and you see that genuine interest in his gaze.

"Tell you what, for every party you go to with me, I'll read one of your favorite books or a movie or shows you want me to watch," he says, picking up the notebook and pen again.

"What?" you look at him confused, unable to help but smile in bewilderment, "Are you serious?"

"You must set your own conditions too," he states as he writes, "I already dragged you into my world, so now you're dragging me into yours," he looks up at you, "What do you think? Is it a fair exchange or not?"

His proposal takes you by surprise and also confuses you a little, however, the small smile remains on your face.

The genuine expression of openness on his face and the determination with which he wrote definitely makes you feel more comfortable. His willingness to immerse himself in your interests was not something you had agreed upon from the beginning, nor is it something extremely necessary to fake a relationship.

But it's for the simple reason that you both feel comfortable if you're going to pretend for almost five months and it seems like a nice gesture from him to include it, something you honestly didn't expect from him.

And when he gives you back your notebook, you see the new rule under 'additional conditions'.

For every party Y/N goes to with me, I will read a book or watch one of her favorite movies or shows.

"Yes," you nod, "Sounds like a fair deal to me."

Aemond smiles, pleased with your answer and also seeing the expression on your face.

"Great. We'll see if I discover something new I like. And you too..." he points at you with his index finger, "You won't regret it after you have a great time at my parties," he says enthusiastically, with a sort of complicity in his tone.

"Well, we'll see if you manage to impress me."

And right there, the two of you exchange complicit glances, Aemond having that little smile on his lips while you don't understand this strange new alliance the two of you are building.

But even though you didn't expect it, it's definitely to your liking.

"Now, third..." you point to the notebook with your pen, "Reinforcing the second rule, public appearance," you say, observing him, "We must act as a committed and attentive couple to each other at school and to these parties you want us to go to."

Aemond nods determinedly, thoughtfully.

"Yes, commitment at all times," he states seriously.

"So, that also means that neither of us can be with other people for the duration of all this, not even secretly," you add, making the point clear.

"And you want to write that as a rule too? It's obvious that neither of us should-

"I'll write it as the fourth rule, just to be clear about everything as I told you."

"Oh, fine."

3. Public appearance: Act like a real couple in love, be committed and attentive to each other at school and social events.

4. No involvement with other girls/guys: No casual encounters or texting with anyone else for the duration of the fake relationship.

"Oh and also..." says Aemond, reminding, "Since we're at that point, on additional conditions write that we should both upload photos and videos together on our social media. It's another way to lend credibility to our relationship."

"Photos and videos together on our social media," you repeat, looking at the notebook.

And this catches Aemond's attention.

"Don't tell me you don't use your social media," he says beginning to sound alert and concerned.

"No, no, I-I mean, yes," you hasten to say, "It's just... I don't know, I most likely don't use them as often as you do, besided I have very few followers."

"Don't worry, whatever followers you have are fine. Besides, I'm sure they'll increase when I upload my first photo with you."

You roll your eyes with an amused smile.

"Okay, Mr. Popularity."

"And speaking of that, hand me your Instagram and all your networks," he says instantly, grabbing his cell phone from his front pocket, "We better have that all figured out now."

Obviously Aemond's accounts had to be public while you maintain your privacy, with barely thirteen hundred followers while he has almost the entire school following him and probably from other schools as well.

In fact, your numbers compared to his are embarrassing. But you never really had the interest of having more followers on Instagram or more friends on Facebook, Snapchat is the same and apparently that doesn't matter to Aemond.

Upload photos and videos together to our social media.

"And well, I also think another very important thing is to maintain privacy," you suggest, lifting your gaze to watch him and Aemond gives you a confused look.

"Do you really want to write that down too? It's obvious we can't tell anyone-

"Let me enjoy this, Aemond. It's actually fun and I want to write it all down. So act serious," you ask.

He lets out a choked laugh.

"Well, yes, we must be discreet, no one must know that all this is false, only we know the truth and we must keep it that way," he says and you excitedly write it down.

"We mustn't involve our families in this either," you add, watching him intently, "But that will be difficult because your siblings are here," you grimace.

"We can keep up the farse with them for a while too, I'll convince them not to say anything to my mother or the rest of my family. And once everyone here at school is convinced enough, I'll tell the truth only to them," he say sure and confident, solving the problem.

"And you're sure you'll manage to keep them that way?"

"Yeah," he says with a shrug, "They're my siblings. I know how it works with each one."

5. Maintain privacy: Tell absolutely no one about the fake relationship or involve each other's families in it.

"Oh, right, I almost forgot..." Aemond says as he points to what is already written, "You must also go on each year's trip to Dragonstone with me. That's another additional condition of mine."

"What?" you inquire again, surprised and confused.

"Yes, the trip to Dragonstone," he affirms.

Oh God, the trip to Dragonstone.

Dragonstone is an island not far from King's Landing, where there is an ancient castle with a lot of history but has been modernized with the same name and is open to every visitor.

The school makes an annual trip for educational purposes as the castle has relics and structuring from thousands of years ago. You have seen pictures and videos where everything looks really beautiful, ancestral and almost royalty.

In addition the castle offers other activities, such as rides on its huge luxury yachts, surfing, diving and swimming lessons.

You always had the spirit to go but have always known that the trip is anything but educational. You've heard stories that happen with the students, such as getting drunk, partying on the yachts, hot tubs and obviously you've heard stories of who slept with whom.

Even the most reserved get to have fun and it's not something you're interested in. You know you don't fit in that environment, especially since everyone has to share a room and you're sure that if you go, you'll have to share a room with girls with different tastes and perspectives than yours. They probably won't even let you sleep.

"Come on Y/N, you've never been to Dragonstone?" asks Aemond incredulously, noting the grimace on your face for wanting you to go there with him.

"Well, yeah I've wanted to go but... I-I, I don't know, I've heard that instead of learning about the place, everyone goes to having fun, they party, they get drunk and I-I don't...

"And what do you expect us to do in a modern castle on the shore of the beach with yachts and hot tubs?" he inquires again, expectantly, "The trip is planned for the middle of the last month of these five months and you can't let me go alone with the things that go on in that place."

You make your grimace more visible, revealing your clear indecision. And even though you and Aemond have been at odds lately over the matter of tastes, he still places a soft smile in your direction, understanding that you are not like him and prefer to do other things.

"Look, you don't have to go to the parties and drink if you don't want to," he starts to tell you, "But we can at least go to one of the parties on the yachts and then do the activities they offer on site, swimming, diving and all that," he proposes, "We'll take pictures, tour the castle and we'll both be equally satisfied."

You ponder for a moment, considering his proposal. You know you only have to get your father's signature on the permit to be able to go to the island and it's not like you've gone before so... you can do it now.

"Well, I guess that's fine," you nod, "But really promise you won't leave me alone and we'll take the time to do other activities that aren't related to partying on yachts and hot tubs."

"Please, we'll go as a couple, so of course I won't leave you alone. You'll be stuck with me," he assures you, "And I also promise you that we'll do other activities, not just the parties."

"And..." you start to say, in a serious, warning tone, "Also promise you'll pick me up every morning to bring me to school. That's another one of my additional conditions. The bus isn't very comfortable anymore."

He nods, shrugging, completely unconcerned.

"Sure, it's no problem. Besides it will make the relationship more credible," he says softly.

Despite your doubts, you feel a sense of relief at seeing and acknowledging his commitment. And you also feel more confident knowing that you have his support in all of this, even in your conditions. So you write down the two new additional conditions.

Drive Y/N every morning to school.

Dragonstone trip.

At the end you both sign the sheet, looking honestly ridiculous but being funny, then both seal the whole contract by shaking hands.

"So when do we start all this?" you ask him, putting away your notebook and pen.

"I say tomorrow," he gives you a look of understanding, "But we need to talk now during classes in the hallways or in the cafeteria, so that when they see us together tomorrow, it won't be so surprising and will seem more believable."

You give him an unsure look.

"I think it will still be very surprising, Aemond."

"It doesn't matter, we just have to start showing together today, just talking. But tomorrow is when we really start."

And just as he says those words, with that determination, you feel again those nerves in your lower abdomen and that insecurity. But at least you still have all day today to mentally prepare yourself, and you're grateful for that.

"And before I forget this too..." he says again, "I need you to send me all your academic information to work on your college application now," he tells you seriously and you watch him completely attentively, "The five months will go by fast and during that time college applications will start. So it's best to get it all in now."

At this, you feel your heart start to beat fast and you don't know why, you guess because it's a very important issue for you. And more than anything else it's the reason you agreed to do this with him.

"Yeah, yeah, sure," you say softly, "I-I'll email it all to you."

He smiles softly in your direction.

"Very well," he nods at you, "I'll text you my email."

Despite your slight doubts about whatever is going to happen next, the idea of starting a fake relationship leaving you with a knot in your stomach and feeling your emotions mixed, you know this will all be worth a try.

So you pick up your phone and you start to write in an email all your personal and academic information. While at the same time all is said and done and the fake relationship contract is over.

THE CONTRACT

Duration of relationship: Until graduation.

Behavior in public: Show affection as genuinely as possible in public, such as gestures, hugs, and holding hands. KISSING ONLY WHEN EXTREMELY NECESSARY.

Public appearance: Act like a real couple in love, be committed and attentive to each other at school and social events.

No involvement with other girls/guys: No casual encounters or texting with anyone else for the duration of the fake relationship.

Maintain privacy: Tell absolutely no one about the fake relationship or involve each other's families in it.

ADDITIONAL CONDITIONS

Parties.

Lacrosse games.

For every party Y/N goes to with me, I will read a book or watch one of her favorite movies or shows.

Upload photos and videos together to our social media.

Drive Y/N every morning to school.

Dragonstone trip.

general taglist

@melsunshine @at-a-rax-ia @jxdegodfrey @ttkttt @yentroucnagol @kate-to-the-ki @iamavailablesstuff

[dirtyvulture]

Natasha Romanoff x GP!Beefy!Reader

18+ only, read at your own risk

Word count: 1718

Requested by @mostlymarvelsstuff: HELLO

so, the 17th is my birthday and I was wondering if you would be so kind as to write me a lil present:

Gp!R x Nat, where R gets woken up by Nat giving her head (Nat of course swallows everything) she then crawls up readers body and grinds against her abbs as R fondles her and before let's R slip inside she whispers Happy birthday to her. (Heavy on the praise from both Nat and R please, sensual smut if you know what I mean) 😁

AN: Happy birthday, fellow sinner! 🥳 I loved writing this request, I hope you like it! :)

Natasha can hardly sleep thinking about the birthday present she has in mind for you. The night before, she doesn’t set an alarm, afraid to wake you up prematurely. She snuggles up in your arms as you instinctively wrap them around her, pressing your front to her back, burying your face in the crook of her neck to inhale her scent as you fall asleep. The two of you have been together for almost a year now and Natasha already knows there’s no one else she wants to spend the rest of her life with. You are her best friend, protector, and lover. She didn’t think she would ever find someone like you and promises to cherish and return your love as you deserve.

She falls asleep for a few hours and when she wakes up, finds that you’ve rolled away from her, lying flat on your back, your chest rising and falling deeply as you’re completely knocked out. Natasha lifts herself slowly, licking her lips as she takes in your figure: the impressive width of your shoulders that she loves to hold onto when you’re absolutely railing her, your washboard abs she could grind on for hours, and perhaps her favorite part, the bulge in your boxers.  

She pushes away the blankets, exposing your entire body and moving to sit in between your legs, carefully slipping down your boxers, a little surprised that you don’t wake up when they get tangled around your ankles. She tosses them to some random corner of the bedroom before settling back, wrapping her arms underneath your heavily muscled thighs to pull herself forward, her mouth inches away from your soft cock. If you had been awake, you probably would have been able to feel the hot puffs of her breath over the head, but instead you snore softly and sink your head deeper into the pillows.

Natasha leans down and starts by running her tongue along your shaft, purposely avoiding the tip. She kisses and gently nips at your length, smiling as it grows with her stimulation and when there’s finally a glimmer of wetness at your head, she takes it into her mouth and starts sucking. She can never get enough of your taste and would gladly take you all day if you let her. You start to stir, instinctively shifting your legs apart and Natasha grins as she inches you deeper, bobbing her head to rub your tip against the roof of her mouth.

Your breathing picks up and your abs flex as you rock your hips up, subconsciously desperate to push yourself further down Natasha’s throat. When you finally begin to wake up, the first thing you notice is the lack of a blanket on top of you and the cool bedroom air against your chest. Then you’re aware of the heat between your legs, the wet silkiness around your cock and your hands shoot down to tangle in Natasha’s hair.

“Oh fuck, baby,” you gasp, trying to roll your hips but Natasha squeezes her arms tighter around your thighs to hold you down. Her lips stay sealed around your tip, her tongue swirling around the slit to lap up every drop you leak out. It takes you a few moments to even comprehend what’s going on as the fire in the pit of your stomach builds into an unbearable heat. Natasha tries taking in your full length–which is no easy feat due to your size–and her throat flutters around you.

“God Nat, that feels so good.” Your back arches off the bed, your muscles flexing like bands of steel to keep yourself from jackhammering down her throat until she chokes. “Don’t stop, baby,” you beg, the grip on the back of her head firm but not demanding. “Please don’t stop.”

Natasha hums in response, the vibrations almost causing you to lose your load immediately, but you hold back because you want to enjoy this as long as you can. You’re throbbing so hard you’re pretty sure Natasha can feel your heartbeat inside her mouth as she slides up and down your cock, coating it with her saliva, swiping her tongue over the head to catch every taste of you she can get.

Eventually, the stimulation is too much for you. Natasha knows you’re nearing your release because of the way your thighs start to tremble and your hips lose their rhythm. She draws back to focus on your tip, sucking strongly as you moan and pant, unable to find the words to warn her you're about to blow.

The first pulse lands on her tongue, hot and salty, and Natasha inhales through her nose, her lips descending on your cock an inch as the second pulse shoots down her throat. With every pump of your cum, Natasha takes you in further and further, until she’s finally succeeded in sheathing you in her throat entirely, her eyes watering as she feels your cockhead threatening her gag reflex. Once you’re done emptying yourself, you go limp and Natasha slowly pulls back, kissing your tip and it twitches at the sensitivity. She wipes her lips with the back of her hand, proud that she’s managed to swallow everything you gave her.

“Fuck, baby,” you say, looking down at her and trying to catch your breath. It was probably the best head you’ve ever received in your life and you are more than eager to return the favor, but it seems like Natasha has other plans first. She takes off her oversized T-shirt that belonged to you originally, baring herself to you, purposely brushing her chest against yours and lying flat on top of you. “That was amazing,” you whisper, cupping her butt and massaging the soft flesh there. 

“I’m glad you liked it,” she replies, jerking her hips forward so she can rub herself along your abs. You tighten your stomach to harden your muscles, giving Natasha a solid surface to grind on. At this point, she’s used to your strength and your impressive physique, but it still excites her to know that only she gets to see and have you like this. 

Natasha sits back, widening her legs so you can see how wet she is as she continues to drag herself along your abs. Her lips are practically glistening and it makes your heart race to see how desperate she is for you. She grabs your forearms, directing your hands to take her breasts instead, moaning when your fingers tweak her nipples and the calluses on your palms scratch her sensitive skin. 

“Just like that, baby,” Natasha says, rocking herself harder and when she presses back, she can feel the firmness of your cock against her ass. Despite finishing in her throat mere minutes ago, you're ready to take her again, a thought that excites her to her no end. “I love the way you touch me. I love the way you make me feel.”

“Me too, Nat,” you say, trailing your hand down her stomach lightly, brushing your fingertips over the raised skin of a scar to the left of her bellybutton. She's known to be insecure about the imperfections of her body, but you always remind her of how strong and resilient she is and not to be ashamed of her past. Your fingers continue down until they touch the opening of her heat, and she jerks forward and looks at you while biting her lip. Boldly, you try pressing your fingers into her but she stops you by shaking her head, reaching behind you and wrapping her warm hand around your hard cock. 

“I need this,” she says, giving you a slow pump that has you throbbing with need again instantly. 

“I’m all yours,” you say. “Take me, Nat.” You’re a little embarrassed how desperate you sound, but you know she loves to hear it.

“Oh, I will.” Natasha grins at you. “Happy birthday, baby.”

You sit up to kiss her and she falls back onto your lap, your cock nestling between her thighs. Her lips are wet with a hint of your taste still and she moans as she lets you devour her, slipping her hand between your bodies to line herself up with you. When your head prods at her heat, you involuntarily thrust your hips up and she pushes against your shoulders.

“Always eager, huh?” she hums as you pant helplessly. She knows too well how willing you are to please her. Natasha lifts slowly eases down on your length and the warmth that surrounds you is indescribable. You tip your head back and moan, and Natasha sinks her nails into your chest, clutching onto you tightly as she starts rocking back and forth.

“Fuck, you feel so good,” Natasha praises, and you want to tell her the same but you can’t find the words. She’s so wet there’s almost no resistance as you slide in and out of her, but her walls cling to your shaft, eager to milk you for another load. “Lie back, baby. Let me ride you.”

You’re in no position (literally) to argue so you fall back onto the pillows, enjoying the view of your girlfriend bouncing on your cock. She leans back to brace herself on your thighs and you can’t help yourself from reaching up and cupping her breasts in your hands again, mesmerized and overwhelmed by all of the stimulation. 

“I fucking love you, Y/N,” Natasha says, and it still makes your heart race every time you hear her proclaim her love for you. Sometimes it’s hard to believe that she chose you over everyone else, and you are so grateful and happy to have her in your life. 

When Natasha starts clenching around you sporadically, you know she’s close. You thrust your hips up harder, meeting the underside of her thighs with a slapping noise. 

“Oh God, oh God,” she chants. Her body tightens and she arches back as she finally cums, gushing around your cock and you slow your movements to help her ride out her high. Natasha can’t stay upright anymore and collapses onto your chest, pressing her sticky forehead into the crook of your neck. You don’t pull out and let her rest on you, rubbing her back gently. 

“I love you too, Nat,” you whisper, kissing her temple.

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

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[shiftingtomydrs]

I had a question because something happened and I don't know if I had a dream or actually shifted. I was on the bus and I wasn't even thinking about my DR, I just wanted to get home quickly. Important thing to know, I've been trying to shift every day for a week which happens sometimes then I don't for 3 weeks try one time again and forget about it until I randomly think about trying. But anyway, what happened was basically that I had Lando sitting next to me and he was eating some food out of a container, it was out of date as it somehow always is and I was reading the chat on the stream. Then I saw someone comment "is Lando ever cooking for you?" and I laughed before saying "The day he's cooking for me is the day he's gonna propose" as it's never gonna happen. Like I knew we had already been together for 3 years and known each other for 5, marriage just wasn't something for us. Then I opened my eyes and I was still on the bus as if nothing happened and I just dozed off. Did I shift???

Yesssss it sounds like it! Congrats I'm so happy for you omgggg 🥳🥳

Like I get why it's confusing tho, the first mini shift I had I was confused af, it was basically my alarm woke me up (I shifted in my sleep) and I turned it off and looked at my phone and I had notifications from insta so I checked it out and it was from my s/o (he's famous so that was really weird but like it just felt exciting not huh wtf is going on here yk?) like he liked my stories (which was also weird cos I don't usually post stories and I didn't have anything posted but it didnt feel weird like it just felt exciting) and I looked for a follow request cos I didn't remember him following me but I couldn't find one so either my dr account was set to public or I overlooked it. Anyway I didn't even realize I had shifted, turned around went back to sleep and woke up back here. Props to me for being stupid ig.

[leahseclipse]

Dar+ling (Emily Prentiss x f!reader)

Pairing: Emily Prentiss x fem!reader

Warnings: Nothing but an alarming amount of cuteness 🤭

Prompt: Person A finally confesses their feelings for B, who has wanted to do just the same for weeks

Summary: Emily finally gets the courage to confess their feelings to the reader, who has just wanted to do it too for a while.

Word Count: 1k

A/N: Doing this cute fic for @foxy-eva 's writing challenge 🥳🥳 congratulations for the 2k followers, I wish you lots of success for the future!!! (Btw this hasn't been beta'd lmao I literally wrote all of this on the Tumblr editor.......... 🫣)

It had always been absolutely no secret to everyone that Emily and I have always been quite close for the past few years, always hanging out after work, chatting for hours and hours in the break room, sitting a bit too long on each other's desks, and the list goes on and on.

We've never gone much farther than that. Not because we didn't want to, just because we didn't really talk about everything, the feelings matter, if we like each other as friends or not... It just never came up. I guess we didn't really think about it.

I've never dared to cross the line, I don't want things to end up awkward because I like her and she doesn't. But, what if she likes me too? For all I know, she could do, I don't see why not.

But, I've never asked her.

I really want to, though. The words are standing on the tip of my tongue whenever it's just the two of us, they're waiting to be said but... I don't let them out. I keep telling myself that I'll do it next time, but 'next time' ends up being delayed and on and on.

I just wish I could confess to her. Then I'd probably feel much better and everything would be fine. I really wish I could do it already. It's been weeks since I've been wanting to tell her.

I always stare at Emily's desk whether she's there or not, I just love to memorize every trait of her face, all the time. I can still imagine her sitting there even though she hasn't arrived to work yet.

I always look forward for the sound of the elevator, each morning. It might be my favorite sound after the sound of her voice. Elevator sounds being my favorite is a bit weird, but I like it because after that her arrival always follows.

And just when I turn my head, the elevator tings, and Emily is there. Her eyes meet mine and I wave at her quicky before standing up to walk up to her.

"Well someone's happy to see me today." Emily says as she opens her arms to hug me. We always sway from left to right, it's our thing.

"As always." I respond as we pull apart from each other and automatically start to walk towards our respective desks, even though she never sits at her chair first. She always goes for my desk, and I sit on my chair and look up at her in all of her beauty.

Even though we've seen each other yesterday, it's like we haven't talked in years. We chat for at least 30 minutes before realizing it's been that long.

I notice that she's been acting slightly different though, as if something has been on her mind. I wonder what happened, if I should ask about it or not while we talk.

I look around and notice that others have started to arrive. We greet them and slightly chat with them, and I start to think that it would be probably better if we moved somewhere else more private to talk.

"Hey, uh... Do you wanna go get some coffee in the break room? I haven't had any this morning and I'm starting to crave caffeine." I chuckle, and she smiles. She smiles.

We both walk away from the desk to the thankfully empty room, and I start to open up the cabinet where mugs are kept.

"Here, your mug." I say as I grab it and hand it to her, before I grab my own and close the cabinet.

"I'll pour it for you, here." She says and I set down my mug on the counter as she pours coffee in it.

"That's kind of you, thanks."

"You're welcome." She responds, and our eyes meet, just for a few seconds, then probably a bit more. It's like it's just the two of us, in a bubble, for a moment. Then she starts to chuckle, out of nowhere. It usually happens when we stare into each other's eyes for too long, I guess it's a nervous reaction. I smile to myself as she pours coffee for herself and sets the pot back on the holder.

We just stand there in silence as we drink our coffees, and neither of us seem to mind. Silent moments are precious too sometimes, I like them. Just standing by her is enough for me.

"Hey, uh..." She starts to talk but stops, as if she hesitates.

"Yeah?" I look at her but she has trouble to look at me. She seems nervous. "Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing bad. It's just... I've... Been thinking about something lately."

"What have you been thinking about?" I ask as we both set our empty mugs on the counter.

"You?"

"Me? What about?" I start to smile, out of nervousness.

"About the fact that I love you." I can see her exhaling a big breath after she tells the words, as if a weight has been lifted off her, and I think that I feel it too.

"You... You love me?"

"Yeah. I do."

"Well, it kinda turns out I do too." I say with a smile and she instantly seems relieved.

"You have no idea how bad I wished you did too."

"And you have no idea how long I've wanted to do this. It's been... Weeks."

"It's been way too long."

"Yeah." I say, before looking behind me to see if anyone else is near, but no one is. I can hear chatting nearby, everyone is probably too busy talking.

"Why did you-" Emily starts to ask, but I cut her off by pressing my lips to hers, just for a few seconds, because someone might come.

"You'll kiss me back tonight. They'll start looking for us any time now." I say after I pull away.

Emily is breathless as she puts her hands on my arms and says, "I might kiss you before, I'm known to be bad at waiting."

(Tell me what you thought about this fic here! ❤️ Don't hesitate to drop a request if you want ☺️)

Here's my masterlist if you want to check out more of my work!

[tailsbeth-writes]

RWRB Festive Fan Fest | Dec. 20th: Favourites of Your Own

Self love time! I feel like as writers/creators we'll rave about other people's works but less so on our own. So it's time to toot your own horn 🥳

I'm so proud of myself for having such a bumper year of fics despite life piling it on sometimes. It's fairly obvious that some fics have been me processing stuff so your warm responses have meant a lot.

i try hard to get back inside your arms alive | T, 1.2k | Alex learns about bi-erasure. - the fic that became bisexual group therapy in the comments. I read them when I've seen something shitty & biphobic.

(set the alarms my dear) there's a million lives to live. | E, 2.1k | Henry encounters the Quinn app while Alex is on vacation with some law school friends. - the Quinn fic and my first real foray into explicit fic. Finding Quinn this year has helped me deal with a lot mentally and creatively. Plus I've bonded with y'all on here (shout out to my Quinn bestie @judasofsuburbia) over it. A sequel to this is on the WIP list and the lovely Emily has already said she'll beta.

a frightening magic I cling to | M, 1.7k | After an indulgent Christmas, Henry battles with body image issues. Alex tries to pull him from his demons the best he can. - my first fic of 2024! I'm still really proud of this, I've been working on a much longer sequel to it which will hopefully be out early next year.

Bi² Alex | 1: Ain't it fun to hold the world in your hands? M, 11.5k | 2: You’re going to be the death of me, babygirl. M, 1.3k | 3: I could speak (or just let my body explain) M, 6.4k (co-written by @run-for-chamo-miles) | The Bigender Alex AU! This year I've got so much more comfortable in my gender identity, I'm still adjusting to being able to express myself in a way that feels authentic and this fic has 100% been part of that process. Alex is a character I relate to a ridiculous amount and while I am usually a canon writer, this didn't feel completely beyond the realm of realistic. Part 4 is on the WIP list and as seems to be the trend of my writing just now, things are going to get sexy. I want to show how sex and sensuality can be really healing and gender affirming.

I've also explored so many scenarios on Ficlet Fridays, big ol' hug for those of you who take part!

[kimberly-spirits13]

A Good Time to Call the Experts: Justice League Dark PT. 1

IT’S SERIES TIME AGAIN 🥳

Pairing: Batman x reader

Word Count: 2,201

Warnings: Mentions of that mother jumping off the roof in the movie (not graphic), creepy shadow, mentions of the various crimes commited in the movie (running people over, killing the family, trying to yeet your baby from a building NOT IN DETAIL)

Summary: Growing up, you were experienced with magic and the forces beyond the mortal realm. You’d always been close to them, you and Bruce knowing exactly how far it goes beyond the known world. Despite there being a quietness for a long time, a magical force is disrupting the balance of peace again, meaning that you’d be disrupted again. Following a series of gruesome crimes around the world, and an encounter with a messenger acrobat from beyond, you and Bruce decide that it’s time to call in more of the experts.

The day that you came to the manor, back from the escapades that had taken you away from Gotham as a child, Bruce didn’t ask many questions as to what happened to you and where you went. He was more concerned that you were turned up with a bleeding forehead and some wild story about killing some leader. When Alfred had stitched up your wounds and given you tea to calm your nerves you had explained everything in detail.

You were taken by your parents who, apparently, were not really your parents but rather recruiters for a youth program specializing in training powerful girls. Your parents had sold you off to them for a sum of money before you were one years old and this couple took you as their own. A short time before Bruce’s parents were killed, they swept you off to some foreign pocket dimension, away from everything that you had ever known to be trained for the sole purpose of becoming an agent for the organization.

Eventually, when you were old enough, you finally had the advantage of being more powerful than the leaders there. You had taken your revenge on the leaders, killed them off, set free those that were captive to them, and escaped from the world you had been stuck in for so many years. When you had arrived to the mortal realm once again, the only place you knew you could go was back to Gotham.

When you woke up tangled in the bedsheets Bruce was already stirring from sleep. Usually when you woke up around this time of year rain sprinkled the windows of the manor. This morning was no different. As dim beams of sunlight seeped through the cracked curtains, you could feel Bruce move closer to you, if that was possible.

“G’morning” His voice was soft but still audible.

“Morning.” You laughed softly and ran your fingers through his hair.

Bruce grabbed at your sides and pulled you closer, laying his body on yours, crushing you for a few minutes. He found it amusing that you tried to hide the fact that you were laboring to breathe for the moment.

“B, you know that no-kill policy you’ve got?” You squeezed out.

“Mhm.”

“Well I think you’re about to break that.” Finally you pushed him off you just enough so that you weren’t struggling.

He let out a laugh and moved himself to be situated at your chest instead of covering your entire frame. There was a lasting silence and contentment between you two which lasted for what seemed like a long time. The only thing that interrupted it was a buzz notification that sounded from your phone. It read “League meeting at 10”.

“I’m pretty sure if we stay like this for much longer, the two of us are going to be very late.” You said looking over at your alarm clock.

It was only 8am, but considering that you two were not morning people, you needed to get moving.

“I’m pretty sure that we could just stay here for another hour. Can’t you just use some wavy finger magic and get us ready really fast?” He mused.

“Wavy finger magic?“ You raised a brow, “Here I thought you weren’t one to willingly use “wavy finger magic.””

“Only if it means another hour with you.” Bruce didn’t move off of you but instead laid there like a statue.

“Fairly positive that if we stayed in bed for another hour, Alfred would come in banging pots and pans together.” You sighed squirming under him.

That earned another chuckle from Bruce who eventually after some prodding, got up off you to start getting ready for the day. Bruce had gotten into the shower and you were busy washing your face when you noticed a strange shadow at the end of the bathroom. There was no light that would have caused the ill-placed shadow to appear there and you were sure that you had never seen one here before.

You stared at it, face wash still bubbling around your hairline from the contact it had with the water. The spray of water was loud enough in the other part of the bathroom that Bruce would never hear you muttering to it.

“Now I suppose you’re not a normal figment of the light are you?” You said rubbing the face wash out of your hair with a wet wash cloth. There was a slight shift in the shadow, “Well I hope you didn’t come here for a show this morning.”

You to raised your hand at it casting a light spell. The shadow ran itself wild convulsing and falling over itself on the marble floor. You saw the darkness drain from the spot that it was previously laid, knowing that the light you produced caused it to disintegrate. You wouldn’t mention the appearance of it to Bruce yet. It always put him in a bad mood when something was suspected to be amiss with magic. You also wanted to ignore the fact that it was in your bathroom for the time being.

When Bruce had finally gotten out of the shower you had already gotten yourself pulled together for the meeting. The only thing that the two of you needed was to pull on your suits and down a cup of coffee or two. The two of you headed downstairs where you were greeted by Alfred with the desired cups of coffee and a breakfast that made your mouth water.

“I don’t suppose that this meeting will last all day?” Alfred asked cordially.

“It’s not supposed to.” Bruce replied still scanning over the morning news, “We’re only going to review footage of the recent crime wave. Some of the Leaguers think the crimes are connected to each other.”

“Well I’d certainly hope it’s a quick fix.” Alfred looked at the two of you, “I’ve heard the family who has adopted the child from the other evening has been having a splendid time taking care of the child. It seems he will be alright.”

“That’s good news to hear.” You added, “The coroner is investigating the wellness of the woman before the incident. He thinks that there was possibly a mental disorder leading to the cause of the suicide.”

Bruce didn’t say anything, and instead continued staring at the news. You knew it wasn’t a good night for him. That night, you were working on the other side of the town because of the recent spark in crime. The two of you figured it would be better to spread out and cut down the area needing to be patrolled. When you got the call from him of what happened you rushed to his location to make sure everything was alright. Bruce didn’t let the baby go but to take off his cape to wrap the baby up. That time you were the only one allowed to hold the child. You knew he was thinking back to that night in the alley and his cause for possessiveness over the baby was because of his experience.

“I think it’s best that we get suited up.” He finally chimed in, “We should be leaving here in the next fifteen minutes or so.”

Bruce stood up and took your mug to the sink where he ran water in it and placed the cups into the dishwasher like Alfred had ingrained in him as a boy. With the look of satisfaction Alfred walked the two of you to the entrance of the cave, saying his goodbye.

You waited as the elevator stopped lowering and stepped out when the door opened. Bruce was beginning to start his brooding mood and you simply couldn’t have that so early in the morning.

“I heard Diana broke a sword against the training dummy during demonstrations yesterday.” You said throwing on your boots after getting dressed.

“Clark said she was more shocked than the interns watching.” Bruce responded.

“Well yeah, I’d think so considering that we’ve used those training dummies for so long without breaking weapons over them.” You chuckled, “She must have just used one with a metal deformity.”

The two of you finished getting ready and started for the Zeta tube in the cave. It was near the computers but far enough away that if there was an intruder, action could be taken to subdue them before they got too close. Bruce was sure of this when they were being installed. When the two of you beamed into the watch tower, there was a group of interns sitting around working on analytics together over coffee and tea. They looked surprised seeing the Batman and yourself walking in. It wasn’t that you two weren’t here often enough, there’s just always an aura of intimidation when you two walk in a room. That didn’t mean that they didn’t like you two though.

“Morning guys.” You said, “How’s it going?”

“Good, we’re just working on those stats for the energy of the tower.” The woman with glasses and long blonde hair chimed in, “I think most of the leaguers are here minus Flash.”

You nodded, “He’s always pushing it.”

You and Bruce walked into the meeting room where Wonder Woman, Superman, Aquaman, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Hawkman, and Shazam were situated. Like the worker had said, Flash wasn’t yet there. You two took your seats and listened to the chatter for a moment. Clark and Diana greeted the two of you and Martian Manhunter floated near to run a data configuration over with you. Before the meeting was meant to start, Flash came zipping in with a smile and an excuse that his alarm didn’t go off in time. The punchline was that he wasn’t late.

“So, I’m sure that everyone has heard of the recent crime spike.” Diana started, “Every crime that has happened so far has been in a similar nature. This is the footage of the crimes.”

Everyone sat quietly looking over the videos. Images of a woman running over civilians with her car, a man being detained by the FBI after passing out, the woman from Gotham jumping to her death, and other similar videos were played. You glanced over at Bruce you then did the same for you. It was as if you were talking to each other with simple looks. He was telling you that there was definitely something going on but he was sure the League didn’t have the right answer. The chime of the computer sounded off as the video paused on the woman running over innocents with her car.

Superman stepped up out of the side of the projection, “These crimes were committed by law abiding citizens.”

Diana did the same as the screen faded to blue, “They all claimed to have seen nightmare visions before hand.”

Lantern chimed in from his seat, “Any idea of what’s causing it?”

Superman looked at him, “No idea.” This gained a sigh of annoyance from the Lantern.

“The one week I fill in for Jordan, and it couldn’t be some hairy ass monster?” Lantern looked down at the table earning a smirk from Flash.

“The same pattern is repeating around the world. So, there could be an overriding factor. Perhaps a paranormal element?” Diana pressed the control switch on the remote that displayed a world map with red dots representing the sites of the crimes.

“Are you talking about magic?” Bruce asked.

Diana turned to face you two, “We’ve come up against magic before Batman. Circe, Trigon Felix Foust. Y/N is the most powerful magic user we have here.”

“Even Shazam’s powers are based in magic.” Clark chimed in before looking at you, “With as much as you’ve seen, can you rule it out?”

You looked dead on at Clark, “The criminally insane don’t need magic as an excuse.” You stood up from your chair getting ready to leave, “I recommend spending more time on the streets instead of flying over them.”

With that, you started walking out of the room. You heard the squeaking of the chair Bruce was sitting in and the footsteps following, indicating that he was trailing closely behind. You heard Lantern say something as the doors were closing but didn’t spare a glance backwards. Instead, you started for the Zeta tubes again.

“I think we need to call Constantine. Zatanna would be a good addition too.” You said, “There’s dark magic at hand. The kind that the league isn’t familiar enough with. Even Diana would be dead weight on cases like this.”

Bruce looked over at you as you were explaining, “You’re sure these cases are related somehow with it?”

“Almost certain. There’s shadows lingering around the manor again. Sign that something’s amiss beyond the mortal plane. Besides, what massive group of strangers are all going to coordinate the exact same response to the crimes committed. It seems extremely telling of something beyond insanity.”

“You just didn’t want the League asking digging deeper into it.”

“Not at all.” You said as the two of you walked inside the Zeta tubes.

Maybe it wasn’t being entirely honest about the situation. With your experience though, you knew that this wasn’t something the league needed to handle.

[faith--in-the-future]

AFHF23 RECAP

thought I'd share my day for everyone (and future me).

so the alarm was at 6am bc my mom had to drive me to the train station to catch the 1st train of the day towards bologna so I woke up early and packed my giant backpack for the week (which I had to buy new bc my old one broke literally the day before rip) and then got on the train! then after 1h i arrived and switched train to get to Florence where me and @riverswater walked around and saw the city before catching yet another train to go to the city where our accommodation was and leave the bags. then we got ANOTHER train from there back to Viareggio and from there then we anxiously waited for the bus with other girls who were also going to the festival. the bus was late but it did arrive and the bus driver must have been driving ppl there the whole day bc he told us where to get off before we even asked him anything sjsj after 15min we FINALLY arrived at the venue 🥳🥳 (it was like 6.30pm lol) and there I met up with @tanktop-lou (trusted louis show companion) and @dahliaaz who I met for the first time irl !!

inside the festival ppl were mostly spread out bc there were only a few people already pressed at the front of the stage (those that had entered first) everyone else was sitting around in the grass or in the areas under the pine trees with the fairy lights and the hammocks! and there were LONG lines at the merch stand and food stands ahsh so it was a pretty chill atmosphere and when I got there there was a dj set by abbie (I think) who played mostly rock and indie hits that everyone knew so everyone was dancing and singing along! obviously everyone got up for mister brightside (white ppl anthem! skjs)

after that the cribs played their set and they were really good !! I liked their songs from the afhf Playlist already and they had a really good energy live and their sound was great! and they kept thanking louis which was very nice! check them out if you haven't!

we also saw lottie and lucky in the terrace bc they were right above us and it was so weird to see them irl like what?? they exist?? crazy ahah but she's really pretty (and short!) and lucky is so cuteee! we also saw Isaac Michael (he IS hot tbh) Oli (!!!) Matt and Chris (booo) and all the girlfriends or wives

then we saw the blossoms set which I also enjoyed although I think I enjoyed their music more from the album version lol but the guy was really trying to get the crowd going so A for effort sjdj I Also liked his 70s hair and look! he kept thanking the wrong city but that's OK skgkj

then ( ~9.20pm ) there was another dj set and at this point everyone was just ready to see louis tbh zjgkh by now the crowd was bigger and getting tighter and ppl were mostly standing. also it had gotten dark which made the place and the lights even prettier

then finally and with only 15min of delay (!!) the band started to take their places and the intro started and then FINALLY the guy we'd all been waiting for took the stage woooo !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (the build up in the intro is so good it really feels you with anticipation! great job steve!)

this year I hadn't been watching the lives for the months before the shows like last year bc it was all in north America so I didn't know the setlist by heart and I have to say it was fun to be surprised every time ! and to experience the live versions of these songs without having heard them many times before!! I really enjoyed that! plus he went a little crazy with the setlist so by the time he did Saturday so soon I was like ok lol ANYTHING can happen tonight skdjkd and it DID! Never in the world would I have expected PARADISE!! as soon as I recognized it I was like OH NO!! I should have listened to this more RIP! at least I knew the chorus skdjkd and it was really fun live !! really went well with the rest of the setlist which was FIRE🤌🏻🤌🏻🤌🏻 probably my fav of the shows of his I've been to! all the songs were so high energy and the crowd around me was as well ! we all jumped and screamed most of the night and it was just so fun! and as always the music was so good like all the added drums and guitars in live arrangements are amazing !! my fave is probably OOMS live it's just SO GOOD from the bass intro to the drums it's just the best! also I'm happy I got to hear 7 again bc it's SUCH a good cover and even tho not everyone knew it (😒 embarrassing) I sang along the whole time sksk and he was obviously great at it! I'm also super happy that he kept BTY bc the new version is fantastic!!!! I LOVE the way he sings the first lines so much!!!!!! and it's great to sing you fuck me up you kill me !!!! all together lol let's all scream about that toxic person<333333 bonding experience! then there were also the heartfelt moments like walls which is always so beautiful especially bc live it becomes such a significant moment of pride and love we all experience together and with louis ♡♡♡ I love him sm. also copy is SO good live like it's just so perfect for that setting and is still one of his best songs tbh

louis was so alive and hyped up the whole time he was having the time of his life !!! you could see how happy and proud he was :'))) and he went down in the front even before the last songs !! it was really fun bc everyone got super squished to the side and the front every time lol (I'm sad he didn't go back enough where I was closer but it's okay shsh) anyways it was just great to see him like that especially bc this time I was close enough to actually be able to see him with my eyes the whole time without having to watch the screens like last time in Milan so it felt more "live" in a way to me , more real I guess. (I'd love to be at the very front one day but I don't have the energy for that quest 😭)

it was extremely hot the whole time (louis would have been less hot if he wore shorts but ok!!!) and ngl the crowd was SMELLY by 10pm but it was so good it didn't even matter lol

the set ended at around 11.45 I think? and then we all sang along to we are the champions which was another prideful moment <3

and then me and rhei made our way back to our bus where unfortunately a bunch of dumb fans also were lol but in the end we made it home by 1am and finally went to bed at 2am with sore throats, music ringing in our ears and hearts full!

10/10 would do it all again!

[wherearemyb0nes]

Yall, idk how I feel about this situation (opinions welcome)

So I have a bf of 3 years who I live with. We started dating while I was dealing with 4n@ and knows I had a looooong history with it before then. I have been “recovered” for about 3 years since and did a good job convincing him that it’s over and done with.

He’s known I’ve had body image issues for a long time and wanted to lose weight and one night he told me it’s kind of unattractive that I always talk about hating my body but not doing anything about it🙃(he’s very fit and goes to the gym constantly). But yeah this comment immediately sent me into a relapse around Christmas and I’ve lost 30 lbs since.

Obviously I’m keeping that part a secret but I’ve been very open about how I’m working hard to lose lots of weight and he’s been enabling TF out of me. Like telling me to watch my calories and applauding me when I barely eat. I told him I was doing a 3 day water fast, which I was worried would set off some alarms, but nope. He thought it was a great idea and scolded me for even thinking about breaking it early. He even agreed to keep it a secret from my family when we visited.

So yeah I don’t know how to feel because on one hand I’m glad he made the comment that made me get my self control back + he always calls me skinny and tells me how light I am now🥳. On the other hand, it’s kind of baffling to me that he knows about my past and is being completely oblivious or just straight up feeding into it on purpose maybe ???

Idk I’ve always known he likes skinnier girls (he used to say a thigh gap was his is biggest turn on💀kms). Soooo yeah if anyone actually read all this I would love to hear some thoughts❤️

[crimeboys]

congrats onnthe new url🥳 tumblr rlly just Ate aliveburs huh i searched it n nothing came up & tried to see if i could save it to a sideblog for u but its supposedly taken🤔

YEAHHH me and some of my friends check constantly it’s literally just like. glitched out idk. i have an alarm set for a year from now just to see if maybe it’s like saved/fucked up 💔💔

[swtchaeos]

Chapter 3 : The last rush

so now for the last few days i don’t have notes but i (july 14th aurore) can tell you what went on in the last few days

I worked Monday 8th / Tuesday 9th and Wednesday 10th and i went out on monday night so i had 2 nights to try and get stuff done

On the 8th :

There was yet again another attempt of me filming myself (outside) which was a big fail

On the 9th & the 10th :

Tried to watch the untamed both nights and got interrupted again twice 💀

At least i got the idea for chapter 2 but needed to make it happen

On the 11th :

I went on vacation meaning : i had time in the morning to get ready then i spent 5hrs on a train

I filmed in the morning (really quickly but managed to have footage)

then i had time to edit on the train

I also managed to watch the first ep of the untamed 🥳🥳 and bc of my many failed attempts i actually think i managed to understand much more than the first attempt 😭 i wanted to continue badly but no time 😭

July 12th :

i got up earlier than others (it’ll make sense when i can update you) so i finished editing my video 🥳

July 13th :

I had resting time in the afternoon and bc everyone was napping and i can’t nap i managed to get started on the idea i got on the 10th of making flashcards so i took like 3hrs reading and screenshotted some of our conversations 😭 and i don’t think i even covered 30% of what we’ve said over 4 YEARS now i know why i made that my first year present with my bestfriend bc damn 4 years of messages is way too long

i’m not gonna spoil the content though bc i’m quite proud of myself 😌

July 14th

i made the bday thread (its in my drafts rn and i am currently writing this bc one bday tradition can be missing but not 2 🥺) i also have a plan now so be on the lookout 👀 (this is becoming so cryptic)

I need to prepare the message and obsly set my alarm at 6 😌 (you cannot convice me otherwise i really hope i’ll wake up 😭)

I hope you like your presents ! Have the best day and i cannot wait to be able to talk about everything with you 🫶🫶 much love ✨💕

Previous / S4 Home

[evan-writes]

It's my 3 year anniversary on Tumblr 🥳

This journey is truly an emotional one... Just as my life underwent transitions, my blog too underwent many..

I happened to start blogging just for the sake of my fandom towards a late actor in 2020.. I blogged casually, later it got into my veins and ultimately I fell in love with putting down my thoughts into words..

Year 2021.. a year of transformation for me.. a person who changed me completely- every thought, every thing I did and said was changed by that person after he stepped into my path in October.. and my life was on a peak..

Days and months passed.. the same continued in 2022.. And now, it's the year, 2023... As time gradually passed, I unknowingly fell in love with this person and life together seemed like a rollercoaster to us.. from your transfer to this very moment, distance always was a villain between us.. yet you took effort to make both ends meet.. that's something worth appreciating. My blog finally went from a mere brain dumping blog to a blog that is written solely for my beloved; the one I love.

Now, here we are.. life has brought us at crossroads.. of course, a lot of misunderstandings , talks, and unwanted allegations has entered our scene.. ultimately, we are left alone to travel.. and it's completely void now. Don't know how it feels on the other side..

Let me take this 3rd tumblrversary to say sorry once again, for all the words and talks that I had made during that fight.. I hope someday our broken bond will be mended ..

Before I conclude.. I'd like to share something here...

Every morning my alarm reminds me of you.. Ever wondered why??? Once I got closer to you, I had set a special ringtone just for your call .. and as your calls reduced.. I set it as my alarm tone.. so I think it as if you're calling me.. it instantly lit up my face..

Our journey had its flaws and goodness.. I learnt a lot, to live, love and be happy with what I have.. we've been in this rollercoaster together.. now, I guess I'm seated in the same rollercoaster, but we both are in two different seats this time..with the hope of reuniting someday..

Will the prayers that I recited ( and the prayers that I will recite in future) throughout this month get an answer?? Hope so...

Yours always, Evans...

[1111jenx]

little thing i associated with

The Stelliums (part 2)

check out part I here — masterlist v1 – masterlist v2

I'm bringing your favourite series back yall🥳Lets get this over with so we can move on to the next surprise I have for you guys<3

🤍seventh house🤍

seek for harmony and partnership but can sometimes be overly invested in others drama, as long as it doesnt involve them;)

may indicate interest in astrology!! or the arts and beauty.

beauty hearts. genuinely want people to accept them and love them. they will always give off the same energy to others.

will always be able to put themselves in others shoes. feel a lot more than they come off!

critical of themselves. can see flaws in others too but will be held back because of ✨manners✨

people owe them favours. big ones.

have a very specific type of people that they attract/attracted to. more than often can lose themselves easily when they love someone (unless there's benefic placements)

i notice 7H stellium are very prone to having back issues or unique health concerns.

pretty individualistic to an extent. better at handling things on their own than Libra Stellium.

subconsciously mirror others. sugarcoating things as they can't stand hurting others.

seek support within partnerships or friendships. emotionally dependent on their friends but will hold things back until its the right time to say it.

🖤Libra🖤

spectacular with people. people are magnetically drawn to them most of the time and they read people pretty well.

understanding. will show you that they put effort into things and want to help you resolve your issues when they actually care.

amazing negotiator! find middle ground in everything and it would take a couple of back and forth exchange before they successfully convince someone. lowkey amazing at predicting others' patterns.

observant. see everything. know everything but mind their own business.

self-less. libra stellium are not selfless like 7H stellium, they're selfless to people they care about only and also people that will benefit them in the future. 7H stellium are naturally sacrificing.

fair and very sound in their arguments. never say something thats going to blow up in their faces.

people pleaser but effortlessly though!!

🤎eighth house🤎

complex relationship with money. a full and well aspect 8H indicate wealth and longevity or generational wealth.

may do really well in government related careers!

nostalgic and grateful people. tend to keep heirlooms in the family or inherit a lot of goods from older generations!

feel pressured to leave a mark. to build a legacy in this world.

naturally passionate and materialistic. they work so well with organizations once developed!! serious when it comes to their career!

intrigued by sex but a damaged one may show fear when it comes to sex due to past issues. a normal one indicate a healthy relationship with sex! acknowledge it as their primal need!!

cautious! they get alarmed by the smallest thing too:)

🤍Scorpio🤍

Scorpio is a fixed water sign, and water reflects emotions, so it keeps on to its feelings for a long time

Because of their strong emotionality, some of them hang on to a wound or grievance for years, fantasising about retaliating when they are wronged.

They possess strong and long-lasting passions, whether romantic, artistic, or other interest.

Extremely analytical and always look for things under the surface. Understand that there are more to what meets the eyes.

Healing energy. Whether or not they're aware of it.

FEAR OF ABANDONMENT is a big theme.

Possessive naturally. The men are more straightforward with it while the women are more suave.

Fantastic strategist, event planners.

🖤ninth house🖤

ethical. gosh they're people of principle!! amazing at writing rules or setting up boundaries, in theory.

naturally great at promoting and advertising or do amazingly well with the law! devoted to honoring the righteous thing.

a need to find where they belong. education may be a very big theme to them. never really stopped learning and they can obsessively learn something.

a lot of them may want to immigrate or move to another country once older!

can have a very religious family or grew up in a family with clear morals.

love for politics. usually are very educated on current issues.

have a lot of people who secretly admire their ethical nature.

visionaries. can be good at writing✨

🤎Sagittarius🤎

Their buoyant optimism can lead to overconfidence and pushing their luck, though they are usually lively, passionate, and optimistic.

They seem to enjoy travel and adventures, always on a never-ending search for new encounters.

Interpret things more different that most. Their brains don't just process informations, but everything along with it. Actually are hella observant.

Like to know whats going on all the time. Very curious individuals.

Others may misunderstand them often, they mean well but they have a harder time toning down their enthusiasm and bluntness when they're younger.

🤍tenth house🤍

ambition and achievement are big for them. don't feel like themselves when they're not challenged or when they don't have to face an obstacle.

may come off pretty authoritative without wanting too. influential people.

secretly love children.

prone to talking about themselves a lot when they start to. always have something cool happening in their life.

*falls asleep in class*, gets a 98%

may be wealthy when they move a foreign country or there will be more opportunities for them!

popular. 10H literally rules over popularity:)

big goals and VERY big dream. they have an air of regality to them.

learn great lessons by losing friends. everytime they lose a friend, they learn something about the world and themselves.

cares a lot about their reputations and how they come off. demand respect too!

🖤Capricorn🖤

can be extremely hard working and are able to delay gratification

Have a cold air to them that seems businesslike, serious, realistic and highly disciplined

These people tend to be very structured, reliable, responsible yet they have extremely high standards

Prone to becoming pessimistic,somber amd fearful when negative thoughts arise. Can be super anxious, rigid, demanding

A true-authoritarian and can be conservative or closed-off depending on the house placements. They like to be conventional and tend to be very hard to convince

🤎eleventh house🤎

no one knows them. acquaintances and mutuals with everyone but no one gets close enough.

as ambitious as the 10H but less focus on the fame but more on the community and what they can offer.

GREAT at business!! extremely committed to their work and energy.

make spectacular companions or partners. they're willing to compromise to save a relationship too:)

everyone's therapist. detached and pretty rational so people love to hear what they have to say.

either hate humanity for its destruction or having so much faith in the future and the human race. never in between.

an emphasis on the need to network. yet also extremely individualistic!!

🤍Aquarius🤍

Aquarius stelliums tend to be avant-garde, futuristic, unconventional

True detached humanitarian, they think very critically of themselves and of people.

can trigger others a lot of the times due to their ability to truly detach which may come off as cold and unreliable. Yet aquarius being a fixed sign, are some of the most committed people once they decided to be.

🖤twelfth house🖤

kind and warm-hearted people who are very forgiving.

secretive and need time by themselves to cool off their burning feelings

lowkey psychic. suddenly feel urges which make them do the most random stuff ever that would make sense at the end.

rather show you than tell you.

🤎Pisces🤎

deep, perceptive, psychologically astute, but also resentful and very compulsive people deep down.

Since Pisces is an emotional sign, have an artistic hobby to express themselves, such as drawing, writing, photography, drawing, music, etc. As Pisces is an expressive sign, they can seamlessly incorporate into the world of art.

A lot of pisces stelliums can be very mysterious and are loners at heart. They have great visions for the future and generally are very intelligent.

Have to be wary of severe attachments and toxic connections that drain them.

love,

saint jenx🪐

[rothjuje]

Found out we get our keys on the 13th!!! 🥳

Will be hotel-bound until the 15th but I am very excited to explore our property and let them run around the house and yard on the 14th, maybe even the evening of the 13th, unsure of when they are actually leaving.

I’ve become friends with the wife of who bought our house. She’s super sweet and has sent me pictures of her sons enjoying the place. They looked for a year and it was the only house they both loved and they are so happy to be there, which makes me so happy.

Everyone slept last night and today has been much more manageable. I planned yesterday around naps, took a long and beautiful drive out to Gloucester (obsessed, can’t wait to actually go to the beach there), all 3 kids napped in the car and it was amazing. Then went to Friendship park (our favorite, will have to come back once we move). Wore the kids out, then long bubble bath to relax the twins, and everyone slept through the night. Gas is crazy right now, so I can’t be taking 2.5 hour joy rides regularly, but the change of scenery sure was nice.

I’m really looking forward to being out of the city. The smaller parks in TX were usually deserted, so I’m not used to huge, crowded parks. I don’t feel comfortable bringing the dog (who technically isn’t allowed anyway) and trying to keep an eye on all 3 kids by myself amongst a bunch of people.

I plan on getting a bunch of play equipment for the backyard at the new place so we don’t constantly have to leave to get our wiggles out (there are two playgrounds near where we live and they’re 3x as far as they were from us in TX). Maybe I’ll build a tree fort in the middle of our forest so we can take mini hikes there.

I’d like to do a stock tank pool (they’re adorable, I went in one as a kid and it’s one of my favorite memories) but am super worried about drowning. It’s something I obsessively worry about. It was a very common issue in north Texas and I ended up reading a lot of detailed stories about children drowning (it happens silently so don’t ever step away from the bathtub, parents have slept through or didn’t hear back door alarms and pool gate alarms, even though both the back door and pool gate were locked, etc). So I still feel like kids can drown no matter how safe you are, and it even happens to famous people with unlimited resources/extra sets of eyes.

But I also don’t want my anxiety to limit my children. Am I being overly cautious?

Speaking of anxiety, do I need to worry about the kids falling off our second story deck? It’s large and beautiful and I wanted to put a kids’ picnic table out there and their tricycles. My mom is worried they will stand on the table or tricycle and fall to their death. They never attempted to stand on our last backyard table, and I could keep it away from the edge.

We could alternatively do an outdoor dining table out there and eat out there when it’s nice. But I don’t really want to stare at a huge table that will block the view. And Justin wanted to do a dining area with a pergola and lights on the side yard.

I was really excited to have the second story deck as an outside play area, but maybe that’s not realistic/safe. Thoughts?

[abarbaricyalp]

I asked for prompts for Steve’s birthday and got:

@barneswilsonrogers i want to share a prompt for steve birthday 🥳 maybe Sam planning something big but everything goes wrong so he’s sad about it and cue Steve being so understanding and love him anyway? lol i hope you like it

which has led to this which is much longer than I intended and was written entirely in the drafts feature on the phone app so it's possibly not as polished as it could be, but I really enjoyed sitting with these two for a while again. Word of warning, you asked for things to go wrong and those things sure can go wrong. PTSD Flashback CW towards the end. Thanks for the prompt!

----

Sam hadn't had to set an alarm for years. He was always up before everyone else in his family (except his dad on Sunday mornings) and he realized quickly he'd rather be awake at the bugle call in bootcamp, or before the emergency alarms when he was overseas. After that, the habit just stuck. He was up early to run, did as many chores and errands as possible before the sun was up, and took to cat-napping in the afternoon if he wanted.

And then he met Steve Rogers, who seemed to make it his life goal to beat Sam out of bed every morning. It was kind of infuriating.

So Sam had set an alarm the night before and he still beat it awake. But the other side of the bed was cool and empty when his hand naturally drifted over to it. Again, really? he wondered with a grumble.

Rubbing his eyes, he shoved himself to his feet and made his way to the kitchen. Maybe Steve had gone out for some reason. Maybe Sam's plans weren't ruined yet.

No dice. He took in the spread set up across the kitchen bar and felt a little of the excitement in his chest deflate.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked, coming to behind Steve to steal a strawberry and wrap his arms around Steve's waist.

Steve positively melted into Sam's touch, setting aside a knife to hug Sam's arms around him. "Couldn't sleep. Wanted French toast. Then I figured I should make eggs for you. And eggs need bacon. And then I started coffee and decided to try that caramel thing."

Sam turned to press a kiss to Steve’s neck, hiding his face there for a second and pulling another happy hum from his partner. "I was going to cook for you today."

"You make those burgers for lunch or dinner and I'll forgive you," Steve promised. Finally he turned enough to kiss Sam properly.

"It'll have to be lunch," Sam said against his mouth, so he felt it when Steve grinned.

"Oh, do we have dinner plans?" he asked. "I'll have to cancel my parade."

Sam laughed and pinched Steve’s side gently. "Let's eat on the patio," he said. "I'll move stuff out there."

"And then dessert back in bed?" Steve suggested, not at all innocently sucking on a strawberry, lips pursed around it.

Sam let himself be distracted for a second. "If that's what the birthday boy wants," he offered. "I think I could suffer through."

Steve grinned and Sam didn't feel so terrible about not cooking breakfast.

They ate outside and a cool breeze and bright sunrise made for the perfect morning scene. Then Steve, without waiting for either of them to put the plates in the sink or even inside, scooped Sam into his arms and carried him back to the bedroom.

Sam landed in their comforter with a laugh and then immediately clutched at his sides to protect them as Steve climbed over him and got his mouth on all the sensitive skin of his abdomen.

"Wait, wait, wait," he laughed, half clutching at Steve’s head, half shoving him away. "It's your birthday. I should be spoiling you."

Steve lifted his head, a dopey grin still on his mouth. "Sammy, this is exactly what I want for my birthday," he promised and went back to kissing over Sam's sternum.

He was just starting to slide Sam's boxers from his waist when Sam's phone rang.

"Ignore it," Sam mumbled, lifting his hips and holding Steve's head down. The phone fell silent and Sam had almost left himself get complacent before it started to ring again.

"It's HQ," Steve murmured against Sam's thigh.

Sam blindly reached for the phone and silenced it before throwing it across the room. "Captain America doesn't work on Fourth of July."

"Doesn't he?" Steve chuckled. "I kind of planned on putting these to work." He licked over Sam's thigh, over a bite he'd worked there while Sam was worried about the phone.

"Mmm, you're the exception to my rule," Sam decided. "You ever wanna boss me around, today's the day."

"Nah," Steve breathed, shook his head so his lips dragged over Sam's skin. "You're smarter than me. Got better ideas."

Sam hooked his other leg over Steve’s shoulder and that's when Steve’s phone began to ring.

"Come on!" Sam shouted at the ceiling as Steve chuckled softly and extricated himself from Sam.

"Maybe it's just someone calling to wish me a happy birthday."

Sam shot him a baleful look. It was very unlikely that that was the case. And judging from the grimace on Steve’s face when he answered, Sam was right.

"Uh, yeah," he said with a cringe and apologetic look to Sam. "Yeah, he's alright. No, I don't know where his phone is. Come on, it's his day off. Can't we just--" His jaw clenched tightly enough that Sam could see it from across the room. With a sigh, Sam pushed himself out of the bed again and began to get dressed.

"I'll be back quick," he promised when Steve tossed his phone on the bed. "Don't you do the dishes. I'll be back in time for lunch. Give you one of the presents. This is really screwing with my timeline."

Steve pulled Sam closer with two fingers hooked behind his hip, but anger still simmered under Sam's skin. He'd had this whole day planned out and now everything was going wrong. It was the first time they were back to normal for Steve’s birthday and it couldn't even be good.

"I know, doll," Steve soothed. And Sam got mad all over again because he was supposed to be soothing Steve. "Just get back. That's gift enough."

Sam pressed his forehead to Steve’s and closed his eyes. "Always," he promised.

The problem was down in Jersey. Sam wasn't even going to call it a mission. It really was more of a watch-and-bust kind of operation that did little more than interrupt his day.

Bucky was there, looking even more sullen than Sam felt. But he managed to get five digs in about Sam being here instead of with Steve. The jabs both infuriated Sam and also chafed at his already raw heart. It was remedied slightly back at HQ by Bucky's, possibly too sincere, offer to knock heads around for calling Sam in in the first place.

It was a silly thing to get really upset about, Sam knew. But he’d put a lot of thought into making this birthday nice for Steve. Things had been rough since the un-end of the world. They'd both been wearing themselves to the bone and today was supposed to be filled with nothing but each other and their friends and cake and fireworks.

Shit, the show. The reservations.

Sam grabbed Bucky's wrist to read his watch and then popped his wings open, about to take off.

"Date's gonna be that good, huh?" Bucky teased. "Or the after-date?" He waggled his eyebrows at Sam.

Sam rolled his eyes back. "I liked you better before you remembered your personality," he griped emptily. Unfortunately, he really liked Bucky. Quite unfortunately, Bucky knew that.

"Yeah yeah, give him a kiss for me." He made a ridiculous kissing face, arms coming up around the air dramatically. It was ridiculous and juvenile but it made some of the frustration and hurt ease up from Sam's chest. Still, Sam hoped a little bit of heat blow back from his thrusters hit Bucky.

He landed on their patio and sighed in resigned disapproval to find it had all been cleaned. The small grill had been pulled out and there were half burnt coals in it and the smell of burnt meat clung to the rack. Man could win a war but not grill a hamburger, it'd never make sense to Sam.

Inside, the apartment was quiet and calm. A record from the fifties--some genre in between swing and jazz--played lowly and a bunch of the candles that Steve liked were lit, trailing to the bedroom. Sam grinned at the theatrics, wished he had been the one to do it, and followed them into the bedroom.

The lights were low, the music louder now, and Steve was laying in their bed in a nice suit. Sam wasn't even going to ask how he'd found the reservations and knew what to wear. He sat on the edge provided by the way Steve was curled onto his side and reached out to shake his shoulder gently. His fingers traveled to Steve's jaw, tracing over the relaxed line of it then over his eyebrow and his nose and his cheekbone.

"Keep doing that and we won't get to the restaurant," Steve murmured, a grin finally coming to his mouth though his eyes didn't open.

"Who wore you out so well?" Sam asked. "Asleep before 6 in the evening, old man." He tsked teasingly.

"I'm not asleep," Steve argued. His eyes still weren't open.

"Well you stay not-asleep while I get cleaned up and dressed."

Steve whined. "That's my favorite part of going out."

Sam kissed the corner of Steve's eye, his temple, his cheekbone. "But you're already dressed and if I let you in the bathroom with me, I know you'll get into the shower fully clothed."

Steve hummed at the thought. "That does sound really nice."

"Stay here," Sam laughed. "I'll be back out in a few minutes."

The first fireworks of the night went off as Sam adjusted the temperature of the water. That's a little early, he thought with a small scowl. It wasn't even dark yet.

He tried to shower as quickly as possible but the warm water felt good on his aching muscles and there was more grime on him than he'd initially thought. Flying through New York probably didn't help anything.

He heard the door open and fondly rolled his eyes. "Thought I told you to be patient," he called.

"Hey now, give me some credit, I'm just bringing you some briefs," Steve called back. "Keep you less distracting as you get dressed."

"Oh? And what if I wanted to go commando? Make it that much easier later?" Sam teased.

Steve groaned, all put upon. "Now I definitely wanna get in the water with you."

Sam rinsed his hair one last time, scrubbing the salt of sweat from his hairline, before pointedly turning the water off.

Steve was waiting on the bath mat with a towel when Sam got the door open. "This doesn't count as being distracting?" he asked with a raised brow.

"Not if I keep my eyes up," Steve joked.

"Atta, soldier boy." Sam took the towel and started to scrub down. Another firework popped outside and Steve rolled his eyes, even if he was smiling a little.

"The Dogers used to do a great show on the Fourth," he said, steadfastly keeping his eyes above Sam's chest as promised.

"You want Yankees tickets, just let me know," Sam taunted.

"Fuck the Yankees," Steve said, like a record.

Sam laughed at him and tugged on his briefs. "Come on, I wanna give you something before we go out." This, at least, could go right today.

He took Steve's hand--sometimes that simple gesture still blew his mind; he was just allowed to do that--and took Steve into the bedroom. He dug in the emptier second closet, where super suits and weapons and shields were kept with old boots and jackets, until he could pull a shape free. There was a Captain America blanket wrapped around it in lieu of wrapping paper.

Steve laughed as he looked over it. "Good call," he said. "I glanced at this thing a hundred times but figured it couldn't be that important if you wrapped it in Bucky's gag gift."

Sam grinned at him and leaned against the bed post. "Go ahead. 'Unwrap' it."

Steve did, just as carefully as he unwrapped any gift. Under the blanket was bag with tactical straps and a good weatherproof canvas. Steve opened that gently too and grinned before the item was even out of the bag. The easel unfolded easily and Steve set it up right where he was.

"This is beautiful," he said softly, tracing his fingers over the fine wood.

"Look, it's got all this storage on the back," Sam pointed out, gesturing to a small peg board carved onto one of the supports of it. A small leather pouch was on another. Various hooks and strings dotted a third. "So you don't have to keep brushes or pencils in your pocket or on the ground."

"Where did you find something like this? It's perfect."

Sam's cheeks warmed. "I made it, actually. A friend of mine, down in Louisiana, is a wood worker. He helped me make it."

"You made this?" Steve asked, voice full of admiration and adoration, as he looked over at Sam with wide, earnest eyes.

"Everything but the bag," Sam agreed, though most of it was lost as Steve enveloped him in a hug that made the day worth it. At the rate everything else had been going, he'd half expected for the easel to be broken in the bag. But it wasn't and Steve loved it.

"I wanted something you could carry around with you, now that you might have some more down time. Take it to the park or on a train or whatever."

"Thank you," Steve breathed against Sam's shoulder. Sam hugged him back, clutching onto him. Then suddenly Steve was sweeping them around the room, moving in time to the jazzy swing on the player.

Sam laughed and clutched onto Steve’s shoulders until he got his feet under him again. Dancing with Steve was pretty much one of his favorite things to do and he let himself get lost in the feeling of it.

A firework burst right outside the bedroom window, red colors tangling in Steve's light hair, reflecting off smiling teeth.

Oh man, I know, I gotta go. It's the same thing every time. But I don't think another drink's gonna Make me lose my mind.

And suddenly Sam was in the a dusty barrack, dancing with Riley to this terrible favorite song of his.

And there was an explosion and Steve's face was red.

And there was a gunshot and Sam's dad was on the street.

And there was a blast that Sam felt the heat of before it hit Riley.

And there was fire and there was noise and there was destruction Sam couldn't stop.

There was a crash and someone was trying to pull Sam from the wreckage, away from his father's body Riley’s body, Steve's body. Away from the fight. Into the fight. Towards the noise. Into the heat.

"Sam. Sam. Baby, come back. Hey, you're home. You're home, you're safe, you're right here."

Sam squeezed his eyes shut and swayed in the ripcurrent of devastation around him. A hand on his shoulder, on his face. Pain all over his knees and his back. Maybe his head. Maybe it was all in his head.

It was never in his head. It'd be better if some of the terrible things that had happened would've just stayed in his head. He could handle it. But instead it exploded out of him in colors and noise and fire and tore apart everyone near him.

"Sam," a voice called again holding his head. The light eased from his eyes and shapes took form again. He made himself blink. Made shapes into a face. Steve's face. A safe face. Steve continued to look worked until Sam blinked again and furrowed his brow. "There you are," Steve breathed. He brushed his thumb over Sam's cheekbone. "You're home," he repeated. "It's okay." They were on the floor, Sam realized. He must have passed out?

Outside, a firework exploded and they both flinched.

"Your birthday," Sam gasped. "Dinner. The show. Shit I--" He looked down at his bare chest and legs. Devastation found him all over again. "I ruined it." A sob had worked its way through his chest and broke free in the words.

"Oh, angel, no," Steve sighed, pulling Sam into his lap and hugging him to his chest. Sam let himself cling onto him. "You didn't ruin anything. I'm right where I want to be. My best guy's arms. Just wish you were feeling better yourself in the moment."

"I had it all planned out. A day just for you. Food and s** and presents all day. And every single thing was ruined but at least I could take you to a fancy dinner and watch fireworks from 75 floors above with you." Sobs continued to wrack through Sam. Frustration and helplessness and pain. He was mad at himself for slipping at such a stupid moment. He'd watched dozens of fireworks shows. He had fought in a hundred more battles. How could it happen tonight of all nights, when he'd just decided to be happy again?

"Didn't we get that?" Steve asked. "We had breakfast and got playful and we danced and I got my hands all over you and you gave me the most beautiful present. Baby, I'm just worried about you right now."

Sam hid his face against Steve's shoulder and willed himself not to cry. "I'm sorry, Stevie," he murmured.

"For what?" Steve asked softly, resting his cheek on Sam's head. "You wanna know something?" he asked. "I don't like fireworks. The smell of them, especially a lot of them, reminds me of... Well, you know."

Steve's fingers started smoothing along Sam's ribs and Sam squeezed his hip in turn. "And I'd always prefer to make dinner with you than go out. I mean, that's not true. I love getting to show you off. But I just love you first. You're everything to me, Sam. Just knowing you put so much thought into today is enough. But I really only need to know that you're okay right now."

He hooked a knuckle under Sam's chin and Sam looked up at him with wet eyes. "Come on, come back to me. You're okay. We're okay."

Sam rested his forehead against Steve's jaw and nodded. "I know. I know. I'm sorry."

"Nothing to apologize for. You're here. That's all I need." He kissed Sam's hairline and rubbed his sides. "I pretty much planned on spending all day in bed anyway," he added when Sam didn't respond. "Just thought it might be warmer."

Sam rolled his eyes. "You're awful, y’know that?"

Steve hummed a chuckle. "Nah, I just know what makes me happy for the first time in ages."

Sam leaned against Steve's chest for a few more seconds, measuring their heartbeats until they were almost the same. "I'll take you up on cooking," he eventually said. "But it can't be burgers. The grill would set off all the fire alarms."

Steve raised an eyebrow at him. "How about that cake in the fridge we're pretending I haven't seen?" he suggested.

"Steven Grant, Captain America doesn't have dessert before dinner," Sam scolded dramatically to banish any last wavering in his voice.

Steve's hand fell to Sam's hip and over his thigh. "The way I remember it, you get dessert before dinner all time." This was further punctuated with a kiss to Sam's neck. "Besides, it's my birthday. Just call me a bad influence on Cap and have a little cake."

"Or a lot," Sam suggested, pulling Steve to his feet as he stood, just a little wobbly.

"There is a lot," Steve agreed with a grin. He kissed Sam like that'd distract Sam from him grabbing his ass. "Feeling better?"

Sam let out an exhale and nodded. Good enough for dinner at least. Good enough to start putting the old plan behind him and focus on the man in front of him. "I feel better."

"Good," Steve agreed and lifted Sam up by the thighs for the second time that day. A shocked laugh burst from Sam and he quickly clung onto Steve. "Now, you keep saying presents, like multiple. But I've only seen one."

"Oh that's how it is?" he laughed as Steve took them to the kitchen. "It was a slip of the tongue. Oh, but Bucky did say to give you this." He planted a wet, awful kiss on Steve's cheek and Steve half groaned, half screeched at it.

"Conspiracy," he accused. "Better find something better to do with that mouth."

"Like what?" Sam asked, settling on the dining table when Steve put him there, letting him step between Sam's legs.

"Like eating cake. Or like something like this." He gently cupped Sam's face in both of his hands and kissed him until Sam's brain quieted and the furrows smoothed from his forehead and a smile came to his mouth.

"I agree," he breathed when Steve stopped kissing him but didn't pull away. "That's a much better use."

"A better kiss," Steve agreed.

"I can't believe you're gonna rank my kisses."

Steve kissed him again with a grin and Sam decided maybe they could be ranked after all.

"Thank you," Steve breathed between their mouths. "For all of this. But just for everything. Every kiss and breakfast and nightmare and laughing fit and stolen shirt and night spent putting in butterfly bandages and stitches and every night spent not doing that and all the dinners at home or out. Everything you do, Sam, is perfect. I love you so much. You're the only thing I ever want. You, safe and happy and right here in my arms."

Sam hugged Steve closer. "I love you too, Steve," he promised. "Happy birthday."

And they kissed again.

[telemna-hyelle]

Lingering in the Ocean Blue, ~or~ Link and Sheik’s Excellent Adventure: Part One

@thedisorientedfae

Here, have a belated Happy Birthday Fic! I’m so sorry this took so long to get done, and it’s only part one of two, but I wish you a most excellent birthday and an awesome year. 🥳🎂🎉

Love ya, little lava sis! Happy Birthday!!!! 💖

Anyway, without further ado ~

Lingering in the Ocean Blue, ~or~, Link and Sheik’s Excellent Adventure

c[]xxx[]:::::::::::::::>

  Part One

It had seemed like such a good idea. Sheik was overworked and exhausted, a day off was necessary, and Wind’s suggestion had seemed so reasonable. And now, here they were: together on Epona, with Sheik’s arms around his waist, and was it just him or did the temperature rise all of a sudden?

There was, of course, one pair of shoulders upon which Link could squarely lay the blame.

Dangit, Wind.

c[]xxx[]:::::::::::::::>

He’d been noticing something amiss for weeks. For one, he’d barely seen Sheik at all. When he did see her, she was dragging herself into camp at odd hours of the day or night, shoulders drooping and gait one of exhausted stubbornness. Sometimes she’d stop by to drop an article of clothing into his lap for him to mend, and then collapse in a heap by the side of his tent to wait.

If he asked what was going on, all she’d do was bite off the word “Missions”, before promptly dropping her head onto her knees and falling asleep.

Link wasn’t the only one who noticed. Wind watched her stumble past with narrowed eyes, and Mask hovered in a grumpy fashion whenever she stopped by the tent, sitting close by and sneaking glances. That, or he and Proxi would come running to get Link whenever they found Sheik passed out in a tree or a wheelbarrow or something.

With every instance that passed, Link’s mounting concern grew, but the final straw came at breakfast one morning. Sheik had appeared at their fire, every muscle sagging with exhaustion, and dropped one of her shirts into Link’s lap. She then proceeded to sternly herd Wind and Mask away from the breakfast stew they were torturing and set about making it edible.

There was some protest from all parties, insisting Sheik sit down and rest, but the sheikah was insistent.

Link opened his mouth, paused when Sheik sent him a narrow red glare over the stewpot, and resumed his mending.

He was in the middle of frowning over the placement of the cut (rather too close to vital spots for his liking) when Proxi let out a cry of warning. Link glanced up, leapt to his feet, and managed to catch Sheik just before she toppled face-first in the stew pot. So there he was, arms full of the woman he maybe-possibily-we-shan’t-discuss-it had feelings for. Mask and Wind had leapt to their feet at the cry of alarm, and Proxi had grabbed onto Sheik’s braid in an attempt to help… but the fact remained that if Link hadn’t gotten there in time… she’d be severely scalded, if not worse.

And what would happen if this occurred again? Sometime when he wasn’t there?

“What’s wrong?” He demanded, a tight band squeezing around his chest—squeezing all the tighter when Sheik didn’t answer him. He glanced down—only to find Sheik’s face squished against his arm, eyes closed and features relaxed.

Proxi dropped Sheik’s braid and fluttered closer, spinning circles around Sheik’s head. “Is she asleep?”

“Seems like it.” Link sighed, shifting his grip, making sure Sheik was propped more securely in his arms. “Mask, Wind, can you get my bedroll from inside the tent?”

“Aye, aye, Captain!” Wind snapped a salute, and he and Mask disappeared into the tent, rushing back out a minute later with arms full of bedding and blankets. Wind snapped out the mat and Mask dropped the thin pillow at the top, then both scurried back so Link could carefully set Sheik down and arrange the blanket over her. She was situated nearby but not too close to the fire, snugly wrapped in Link’s blanket and dozing away on his pillow.

His heart was acting funny again, but this was not the time.

He took a step back, running a hand through his hair as he turned back to the stewpot, frowning down at it as he poked it with the wooden spoon. Hopefully it was far enough along that he could finish the rest without irreparably ruining it.

There was a long moment of silence as everyone processed what had just happened. Finally, Link sighed again, looking up from the stewpot towards his informal information network. The three of them (Wind, Mask, and Proxi) ran wild all over the camp and were often privy to a vast amount of gossip, some useful and some not.

“Do you have any idea what’s going on with Sheik, lately?”

Mask and Wind exchanged glances, while Proxi bobbed nervously. Mask was the first to make a move, poking at the dirt with a stick. A distant part of Link warmed with amusement and fondness when he noticed Mask had chosen to situate himself right by Sheik’s head—and Wind was sitting at her feet.

It seemed Sheik had two faithful guardians watching over her as she slept.

“…she… she told me that she knows Impa doesn’t trust her.” Mask’s voice was quiet, a scowl on his face, and he aggressively jabbed at the dirt with his stick.

Wind and the Captain exchanged grim looks. “She’s trying to prove herself.” Wind said quietly.

Link felt a sharp, stabbing pain in his chest give an extra twist. He glanced over at the Sheikah—she laid limp on his bedroll, the slump of exhaustion draping her limbs even in sleep, preventing any restlessness.

“This can’t go on.” Link said, his voice firm with determination. She needs to rest.”

“Try telling her that.” Mask grumbled.

Link grinned back. “That’s the plan, so wish me luck.”

Wind hummed thoughtfully, fiddling with his wind waker. “If we want her to relax, we’re going to need to get her out of camp. Otherwise you know she’ll leap at the first opportunity to take a mission that she hears.”

Link ran his fingers through his bangs, huffing out a breath. “Fair point, but what on earth can we do to get her out of camp?”

There was a brief moment of silence.

“Hot springs.” Mask suddenly piped up.

Both older heroes turned to face him, eyebrows raised.

“What?” his shoulders hunched. “Those are supposed to be relaxing, right? And we’re near Death Mountain. There should be some nearby, right?”

“Hot springs are pretty relaxing,” Link acknowledged, and shot Mask a proud smile. “Good idea.”

Mask ducked his head, muttering something under his breath. Proxi, who was currently perched on his shoulder, heard everything, however, and her wings quivered with amusement.

“The question is, how on earth do we get Sheik to a hotspring?” Link mused, frowning down at the soup as he stirred.

Wind paused mid-twirl of his baton, a smirk flashing across his face before he wiped it away with the speed of his namesake. He cleared his throat, then said, his voice calm and casual. “You could go with her.”

Link nearly dropped the spoon into their breakfast. “What?’”

“Don’t give me that,” Wind sniffed. “There’s nothing wrong with hanging out at the hot spring with a friend.” He raised a challenging eyebrow at the Captain. “And you and Sheik are just friends, right?”

Link opened his mouth. He closed it.

He resumed stirring the soup with a vengeance.

“Yes. We are.” The words were bitten out through gritted teeth.

Wind smirked.

Mask looked very, very lost.

“Anyway,” Wind said, “You’re still recovering some from a couple days ago, right?”

Link’s hand moved to touch his side, head dipping in a nod. He’d caught a glancing blow from a moblin’s spear. He’d managed to half-deflect it with his sword, and his chain mail had held, but his right side had been one massive bruise. Fortunately (or unfortunately), it was a minor enough injury that the medics had prescribed rest in order to save potions for the more grievously wounded.

“Then,” the sailor grinned, “it’s you going to the hot springs to accelerate your healing, and we’ll ask Sheik to come along to watch your back.”

The Captain blinked. “That… that might actually work.” He glanced down at the soup and gave it a sniff. No smoke, so it was probably good. He withdrew the spoon, tapped it against the side of the pot, propped it against the rock, and stood. He clapped his hands once. Wind and Mask snapped to attention, and Link propped his hands on his hips and surveyed his men with a thoughtful eye.

“I’m going to request a day’s leave of absence from General Impa. Wind and Mask, watch over Sheik. If she wakes up before I get back, fill her in, and ask her to gather some spare clothes she doesn’t mind getting wet.”

Wind casually snapped a salute, but Wind frowned. “So what are we supposed to do until then? Just sit and wait?”

Link beamed at him. “Excellent question!”

Mask shrunk back suspiciously, suspecting he had walked into a trap. He was right.

“While you’re waiting, why don’t you fix up something for us to bring along and eat, since we’ll be gone until late.” The Captain arched an eyebrow. “I’m sure between the two of you you can manage something simple.”

Mask puffed up at the affront to his skills. Wind muttered something along the lines of “I wouldn’t be too sure.”

It was good enough, however, so Link nodded. “Right. That’s all, so I’ll be off now.”

He cast a glance at Sheik. She was still firmly sunk in sleep, eyes clothed and breaths deep… and yet despite the fact she had a guardian seated on either side of her in the form of Mask and Wind… she looked lonely, somehow. Lonely and weary and sad.

He chewed his lip for a moment, lifted his chin, and strode over to her side. In a swift movement his scarf was unwound from his shoulders, and he gently draped it over Sheik’s shoulders. He paused, waiting to see if she was disturbed—but she slept on, the rhythm of her breath unchanging.

He let out an amused breath—she must really be tired—and tucked the scarf and blanket about her a little more firmly.

When he looked up, Wind was smirking at him. Link was a mature adult, however, so he stuck his nose to the air and turned away, reaching out and managing to ruffle Mask’s hair before the sprite’s affection-senses tingled and prompted him to duck.

Then Link swung to his feet, and strode off in the direction of Impa’s tent.

Wind and Mask, back in front of their own tent, looked at each other in silence.

“Sandwiches.” Wind said finally. “We’ll make sandwiches. You can’t mess up sandwiches.”

c[]xxx[]:::::::::::::::>

It took a little bit of convincing, but eventually Impa caved, as long as it was restricted to one day of leave from camp.

Mentioning the combined wrath of Mask and Wind that would result if Sheik didn’t get her time off did wonders for the negotiations.

He returned to his tent to find Sheik awake and looking slightly bewildered, holding a small bundle of clothes and towels. Wind was holding a packed knapsack, and Mask was holding Epona’s reins.

Fi was also there, oddly enough. Link cast a swiftly glance around the area, but nothing seemed to be damaged, so he brushed it off.

“I got permission.” The captain said, grinning in thanks when Sheik pushed his folded scarf into his hands. Sheik didn’t seem to notice the grin, as she was determinedly looking the other way.

She cleared her throat. “Good. I’m glad you’re going to be able to give your body a chance to heal a little.”

“Well, I’m glad you agreed to keep me company. I’ll feel a lot better with you there to watch my back,” …and to give your own body a chance to rest, but that part was better left unsaid.

Her only response was a nod, but there was a faintest tinge of red crawling above her mask. Link’s heart stuttered unsteadily. In order to stave off dwelling on that, Link hastily turned and said hello to Epona.

Epona said hello back enthusiastically, letting out a billow of horsey breath and nosing at his hair. He could never quite tell if her sniffing his hair was out of affection or out of the hope that it was straw, but he chose to believe the former.

“Good to see you too, girl,” He murmured, and turned to Mask, cocking a brow. “Where’s Sheik’s horse?”

“I don’t have one.” Sheik said. Wind beamed a sunny smile at the captain.

“We thought that Sheik could just ride with you, instead.”

That sounded like an excellent plan, especially because it would save Link the time of having to go back and request an already-irritated Impa for a horse. In short order, Sheik’s bundle and the knapsack were firmly affixed to Epona’s saddle, and Link was astride his horse, pulling the sheikah up behind him.

She settled into the saddle, her arms wrapping around his chest in order to stabilize herself.

All of a sudden, Link realized just how close she was.

Had the sun just come out from behind a cloud, he wondered distantly, because the air seemed a lot warmer suddenly.

“Well?” Sheik said, and Link nearly jumped, not expecting her voice close to his ear. There was a part of him that was appreciating the sound; the rest was running about, routed, panicking, and leaderless.

In other words, he was paralyzed with embarrassment.

In the storm of his confusion, Wind’s eyes caught his.

The sailor was staring at Link, arms folded, a smirk on his face, and everything suddenly became clear to Link in one brilliant blaze of realization.

Wind had set him up.

Thankfully, this was enough to shake Link out of his confusion. He firmed his grip on the reigns and cleared his throat. “All right, let’s be off!”

“I wish you a restful trip, Master Link,” Fi intoned, and Link barely managed to bite down the hysterical laughter that wanted to escape. He resorted to nodding instead.

Then, with a touch of his heel, he pointedly turned Epona away from Wind’s smug face and trotted off towards Death Mountain, trying very hard not to think about how close Sheik was right now.

Wind, Mask, Fi, and Proxi watched them go.

“There is a 98% chance you are planning something, Master Wind,” Fi said pointedly.

“Yep!” Wind stretched an arm above his head, grinning in satisfaction. “I’m hoping that with the atmosphere being “romantic” and all that they’ll be forced to stop being so freaking oblivious.”

Mask shot him a look, confused. “What’s that supposed to mean? What are they gonna do?”

“Hmm.” Wind hummed thoughtfully. “Dunno. Kissyface, I hope.”

The sprite’s face twisted in a grimace “…Gross.” c[]xxx[]:::::::::::::::>

.

.

.

On the Subject of Sandwiches

 “We have bread. We have cheese wedges. We’ll slice the wedges thinner and make toasted cheese sandwiches for theme. It’ll be easy!” Wind announced, and so he and Mask did just that.

They sliced the cheese wedges, arranged them on the bread, sandwiched the slices together, and set them on flat stones by the fire to toast.

It was, in fact, incredibly easy.

If, perchance, if the word ‘easy’ in the sentence referred to ‘setting things on fire’.

Three minutes later, there bread sprang into flame.

Proxi screeched.

The boys screamed.

In a panic, Wind twirled his baton, sending a breeze to extinguish the flame. It might have worked, if the breeze hadn’t been just a tad too strong and blew the sandwiches straight into the fire instead.

The boys screamed again.

By some miracle of severe exhaustion, Sheik slept on, oblivious.

The boys sat in front of the fire, staring at the blackened remains of the sandwich as the cheese bubbled and the bread slowly crumbled away into ash in the midst of the fire.

“We need backup.” Wind sighed.

Mask grunted.

“I’m getting Fi.” Proxi announced. “She knows everything.”

The fairy darted off to do so, and returned with the sword spirit in short order. She floated before the two heroes, head cocked slightly in curiosity. “What is it that you require of me, young masters?”

Mask didn’t say anything, as he usually avoided talking with Fi, but Wind had no such qualms. “Sheik and Link are going off to the hot springs relax, and we need your help in order to make them some food to pack.”

Fi was silent.

“Yes?” Wind prompted, shifting impatiently.

“The Goddess provided me with many functions in order to assist my Master in his quest,” Fi said, “But I am afraid it is not within my abilities to perform miracles.”

Wind wilted.

“I knew she wouldn’t be any help,” Mask muttered, and Fi’s head shifted slightly. Her wings fluttered for a moment.

“However, there is little logic in surrendering before even attempting a task.” There was the faintest modulation in Fi’s voice. If one listened closely, one might even hazard she sounded slightly miffed. “Allow me to serve you to the best of my capacity, young masters.”

And, despite Fi’s rather dour predictions of success rates lying around 27%, with Fi and Proxi teaming up to watch both soup pot and replacement sandwiches like hawks, the second pair of sandwiches lived beyond the toasting process. They were wrapped carefully in napkins and tucked in a knapsack, along with two canteens.

With Fi’s instructions, they even managed to add more ingredients for the soup, so there was enough for breakfast and for Wind could fill two bottles and pack them with the sandwiches as well.

“I think you have something to say to Fi,” Proxi whispered in Mask’s ear. The sprite pouted, but shuffled over to where Fi floated, eyeing Wind’s packing process to ensure nothing failed in the final lap.

Mask hunched his shoulders and said, not particularly loudly, “Thanks. You helped a lot.”

Fi stilled for one moment, and then turned slightly, just enough to face Mask. “Of course.” She said, her tone soft. “It was my pleasure, Master Link.”

Mask looked away, somehow unable to bear the mixture of fondness and… something… in the sword spirits’ gaze.

“THERE!” Wind proclaimed, buckling the knapsack shut and patting it proudly. “See, I told you guys it’d be simple.”

Fi, Mask, and Proxi sighed.

Shiek slept on.

c[]xxx[]:::::::::::::::>

[lichenaday]

i have a few questions about adhd in academia, please feel free to only answer them if want to

1. best mistake you made with adhd?

2. what kind of organizational systems do use to manage your adhd in academia?

3. what did you have to unlearn to succeed with adhd in academia?

4. what were some of the hardest things to accept about being adhd in academia?

5. with adhd, anxiety, and depression, how do you combat procrastination in academia?

thank you for your time and congrats on your success! 🥳

1. Best mistake you made with ADHD: Like the funniest? Almost certainly the time I picked up a venomous snake in the woods during field work, got bit, and had to go to the emergency room. I am now a cautionary tale within the department. I blame this on my ADHD, maybe it was just me being a straight-up dumbass, but I find that I tend to hyperfocus on something and don't have room in my brain to consider the consequences because SNAKE SNAKE SNAKE NEW SNAKE FRIEND GONNA CHECKOUT ITS BELLY SCALES FOR BETTER ID PURPOSES YES THIS IS A VERY GOOD IDEA. Best for me personally was impulsively signing up for my first lichenology class!

2. I have a therapist! I am lucky to live in Germany, where the very-low cost of my student health insurance covers the cost of talk therapy. Most universities have some sort of student counseling service. I saw an academic counselor for a few sessions and quite frankly, didn't find it helpful because yeah, I know how I am supposed to study, but I'm built different, and so I found my therapist with the help of the student union and she was essential to my success. USE THOSE STUDENT RESOURCES. 3. I have had to unlearn a lot. But perhaps the biggest thing I realized is I never really learned how to study? I always skated by on just like, being smart. And being really good at rote memorization. Being a good test taker, essentially. But now that I am at a level that is super challenging, and forces me to think theoretically, I actually have to study for exams. Like, a lot. And that means I need to start studying like, more than a day before the exam. So relearning how to study has been a nightmare, but ultimately really good for me? Probably? Ask me again in 10 years. RIP my GPA 4. A few I can think of: a) not everyone is going to *get* you. Academia selects for certain types of people. If you are different, you are gonna stand out, and some folks don't know how to deal with that. If you asked them individually, of course they would say that all perspectives are welcome in academia, but they probably have some internalized biases that they don't realize. And you gotta just accept that. You will find plenty of folks who do like you, and are willing to work with you even though you may work at a different pace, ask lots of questions, talk a lot, and need extra help from time to time. b) You might get shit grades. And you will see other people putting half the effort as you getting much better scores and it's gonna hurt. But academia is biased. The system is built to reward certain types of intelligence, and ADHD ain't generally one of those types. But you don't have to let that hold you back. You can actually get by being a good worker/writer/public speaker/passionate scientist, and the grades will only matter to the folks/institutions you are better off not working with anyway. c) You are good enough. And you deserve to be here. Even if things are harder for you, you are slower to learn, you struggle--science and academia needs you passion, your perspective, your desire to change the system. 5. Hahahahahah . . . I don't combat it so much as embrace it. It's just how I'm wired. And I may procrastinate, but I still get my shit done. Eventually. One of the best suggestions I got was "eat the frog first." If you have something you gotta do, set an alarm for an hour earlier than you have to wake up, and work on it right then, first thing, before you have anything else to distract yourself with. Reward yourself with your favorite hot beverage of choice. Or scheduling alternating tasks. Gotta do the dishes, gotta write a paper. Write until can't anymore, unload dishwasher, write until can't, rinse dishes, write until can't, load dishwasher, write . . . so on and so forth. I gotta do dishes because I am out of dishes, so I guess that means I gotta write, too.