#again gio rambles

[archangeldyke-all]

@sumilane made this gorgeous art and i wrote a little something for it! i posted it already last night as a reblog but i'm going to make it it's own post so gio can add more art to it!! eeek!!!

men and minors dni

sevika is feeling strangely vulnerable.

it could be the bottle of whiskey the two of you have been sharing this evening. it could be that silco, the one person she knew best in the world, is gone now. it could even be the brat he left behind for her to take care of who's been slowly worming her way into sevika's heart throughout the time spent fixing up her new arm and changing their looks together.

it could just be you, though. the sorta-sad, mostly resigned look in your eye as you lament your relationship woes to sevika.

"i dunno... every time i think i could have something with someone-- not even like, marriage, but y'know-- just someone to share some intimacy with-- something happens and it doesn't work. after a while i just start to think maybe it's not the circumstances that are fucked up 'n maybe it's just me."

"bullshit." sevika spits, shaking her head and quickly refilling her glass with more whiskey. she has to do something with her hands to keep from reaching across the table and shaking your shoulders as she speaks. "y-you're fine. perfect--" she cuts herself off, a furrow in her brow as she glares at her whiskey.

you snort. sevika's adorable when she's tipsy, stumbling over her words and staring into space. fuck. you need to stop rambling about your heartache to the woman you're hopelessly in love with. "i-i'm sorry for dumping this shit on you sev. 's boring and stupid and--"

"no, shut up, it's just--" sevika blinks up at you then curls in on herself in a manner that's almost... shy. she clears her throat and looks away for a moment, almost whispering. "i-i'd marry you."

you blink.

"what?"

"i'm saying you're fuckin' stupid if you think you don't have options." sevika mutters, hunching her shoulders so much she looks small.

you're heart's beating a mile a fucking minute, and you squeak when you bite your tongue to make sure you aren't dreaming. "you said you'd marry me?"

"fuckin'-- obviously only in some hypothetical world where you were into me." sevika shrugs. "but...yeah." she grunts, before reaching out and drowning the whiskey in her glass, muttering a "fuck." under her breath.

you blink a few times, tears spontaneously bubbling up in your vision and a lump forming in your throat. "i was under the impression that i didn't have a shot with you." you whisper.

sevika's eyes fly to yours, wide and shocked. "what the fuck would make you think that?!"

"j-just..." you trail off, gulping again. "you're the most interesting, attractive woman i've ever met, and i am one of about a thousand other fuckin' people in zaun who think so. a-and we've been friends for years and you never said anything..." you trail off as sevika stumbles out of her booth and over to yours, shoving in beside you and cornering you against the wall, clutching your jaw with both of her hands as she stares down at you-- bewildered.

"is this a dream?" she asks.

"i bit my tongue to check-- it's real."

"i-i was serious y'know. i'll take you down to the courthouse tomorrow morning." she says, her voice shaky and sincere.

suddenly, the full reality of the situation hits you, and you burst into laughter. "i-i've been in love with you for years." you admit through giggles. "years!"

sevika starts to giggle too. "m-me too."

"and your fucking haircut is so hot all i've wanted to do for the past two weeks is kiss yo--"

sevika cuts you off with her lips to yours, and you sigh, wrapping your arms around her shoulders.

it's a drunk, sloppy kiss-- years of tension and yearning finally bubbling to the surface as sevika attempts to pin you to the booth.

you have every intention of letting her do just that when she pulls away, grinning down at you.

"you really bit your tongue, didn't you? i can taste the blood in your mouth." she asks.

you nod, clawing at her desprately as you try to get her to kiss you again. sevika grins, swooping in to do just that-- but when she pulls away the second thime with her leps stained with your blood, you gasp. "oh, shit!"

"i tried to tell you." sevika giggles.

"do i need stitches? can you give stitches to a tongue?" you ask.

"this really puts a dent in all my plans." sevika cackles. you snort, and she passes you the bottle. "drink. it'll wash the blood away."

"w-what plans?" you ask as you take a swig.

"the plans i had for your tongue."

you choke, whiskey spraying everywhere as you cackle.

sevika--covered in your spit, blood, and whiskey-- smiles so wide you think her face might crack.

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@lavandasz

[aheathen-conceivably]

The next day Zelda found Gio in the field at sunrise, just like she had most mornings for the last five years. He was in his work suspenders, his hat not yet needed to protect him from the harshness of the day, and his button down showing old stains that no amount of scrubbing could get clean.

He was staring at another newly wilted plant when he saw her, and she immediately regretted her choice to talk to him here. It had seemed appropriate when she was agonizing over it the night before - to talk to him where they had both found hope when all seemed lost, and the world felt just as likely to collapse in on itself as the air was to be taken over with tornadoes of dust.

Only it was harder than she expected it to be - telling him that she was leaving. That when the day got too hot she would no longer sing to herself to move the still air, or that now his rambling stories of New Orleans in the 1910s would have no audience other than the earless crops. It was harder than she expected to tell him that she was leaving him there to work the fields alone when they had been there together nearly every day for five years, laughing and struggling as they tried to pull life from unwilling red dirt.

But just like Antoine had said, he didn’t begrudge her for a moment. He had smiled and wished her the best of luck, and made her promise that if he forgot everything she had taught him she would find the very best farming manuals the library had to offer. He never let his loneliness make her feel guilty, or try to stop her when she walked away.

But God, he wanted to. For all the mistakes he had made in his life, he wasn’t an idiot. He had seen the signs in every wilted crop and fallen leaf. With every harvest that went by having two of them there seemed more and more superfluous; and he couldn’t blame her finding work elsewhere, especially not when it was something she was clearly so passionate about. 

He only wished that this wasn’t what he was passionate about. Not farming, of course, but what it represented to him and the life he had imagined it would give him - the kind he had once heard his grandparents talk of in the countryside of Sicily. Working all day with your hands alongside someone you loved, seeing something grow to fruition, and just living comfortably without fear hanging over your head.

Was it so far fetched to dream of having your own land, a home that was yours like a bastion against the encroachments of the world? And if he could turn a profit for himself and his family in the process, well then all the better. That was what it meant to be an American, wasn’t it? And it was what he had spent every last penny of his savings trying to achieve.

Only now the crops were dying again.

And even worse, it seemed like they were all moving on from the base he had provided for them while he had been left here near bankruptcy. Each and every one of them was moving onto something newer and better, like fate had brought them out here with a plan that had forgotten to include him.

It was like the land itself had conspired against him; stolen and twisted beyond what it once was, it gave less and less every year despite the promises of plenty that had lured him out there with all the trappings of the American dream. Meanwhile the banks swarmed like buzzards, searching for the carcasses of dead farmers and broken dreams whose pockets they could peck clean like bones.

Now he was out of money and nearly out of time. The crops that were still blooming were the only shining beacon left of everything that he had hoped for when he left home. Behind them, lingering in their wilting leaves like a shadow, was the knowledge that he could end all of this with a single phone call. One groveling phone call - his tail tucked between his legs and his morals steamrolled under reality; then it would all be over. None of them would ever have to worry about hunger or struggle again. Only then, what was left of his soul would finally be gone. Father, I was wrong.  

But he couldn’t. He had worked his whole life to avoid that, fought every naysayer and washed himself of the blood of his family in pursuit of this. What was left in the dying soil was hope. No more and no less. He just needed more time. He couldn't give up now. Otherwise it was all for nothing. The mockery, the loneliness, the lies. The struggle. And if it had grown once, what was stopping it from growing again?

Only a horrifying thought was beginning to take root in the back of his mind. That maybe, just maybe, he had bet it all on a lie.

Previous / Next

[wileys-russo]

childhood sweethearts (12) II a.russo x reader

playlist one two three four five six seven eight nine ten eleven

childhood sweethearts (12) II a.russo x reader

"took your time!" you stepped aside as the two taller boys pushed inside making you roll your eyes. "please, come in!" you gestured sarcastically, slamming the door shut behind you. "get off russo." you huffed, smacking away gio's hand as he ruffled the hair you'd just finished doing.

"that was not an hour. that was forty minutes you're lucky i'm ready!" you warned them both, kicking harry's feet off your coffee table with a glare. "forty minutes is an hour in guy time, you'll learn." your brother dismissed with a wave.

"nice place shortstack, teachers salaries must be better than i thought." gio whistled as he wandered around your living room. "not really." you chuckled honestly with a shrug. "she's just good at saving money, squirrels it all away like a little mouse." your brother teased pulling a face.

"i had to! you and lil were always stealing it from me." you shot him a filthy glare as he held his hands up. "you have no evidence of that." he grinned with a wink. "hang on. you're not wearing that are you?" gio narrowed his eyes and pointed at you accusingly.

"yeah. why? whats wrong with it?" you frowned, playing with the hem of your jumper. "it's sky blue!" gio groaned without explaining as your frown deepened. "oh he knows the color wheel! good job buddy." you mocked sarcastically with a clap.

"manchester city are sky blue you idiot. we support arsenal, go find something red!" harry chimed in pointing away as you scoffed. "sorry i didn't know there was a dress code for a football game." you rolled your eyes.

"no it's fine we'll just get you a jersey from the armory. go find a hoodie or something, but not blue!" gio dismissed, shooing you off toward your room. "all this over a stupid fucking football match." you mumbled to yourself as you left, both boys yelling at you for the comment.

"can we go now?" you sighed, gesturing to yourself as the boys nodded, dressed in distressed blue jeans, a black hoodie and a black puffer vest on over the top, harry hauling himself to his feet.

"yes we can now you no longer support the enemy. so are you still allergic to football or have you actually grown up?" gio threw his arm over your shoulder guiding you away as you grabbed your keys, leaving the lights on and locking up.

"oh she's still deathly allergic, pretty sure she thinks the ball is a square." harry grinned as you flipped him off and buckled up, gio immediately beginning a rambling recount of all of the rules and history as harry started the car and you sat in the back with a sigh.

you contemplated texting alessia to let her know you were coming but the first moment your fingers touched the device to pull it from your pocket it was snatched from your hand.

"you're a teacher shortstack you should know better than to have a phone out in class, football school is in session and there will be a test." gio grinned wolfishly dropping your phone into the front console and ignoring your protests to have it back.

the three of you split up as you arrived to the emirates and your eyes almost bugged out of your head at the amount of people wandering around. "they're all here for the match?" you asked in disbelief, harry disappearing to get some food as gio dragged you off to get a jersey, again ignoring your protests.

"yeah! you've clearly been living under a rock if you don't know how big womens football is." the boy chuckled with a shake of his head, the two of you waiting in line. "didn't you literally go to the world cup? and you still can't believe how many people are here?" he laughed as you looked around in awe.

"in my defense the last match of alessia's i attended that wasn’t a world cup semi had about fifty people watching!" you frowned, only making him laugh harder, patting you on the back and shaking his head. "well, times have changed kid." he grinned, again ruffling your hair as you shoved him away and you moved closer in line.

"so. you and my little sister, worked things out then?" gio asked, leaning in to practically whisper at you as you frowned, unsure what he was asking. "please. don't play dumb with me i know you far too well to be fooled by that!" the boy warned with an amused smile as your eyes widened.

"she told you that we..." "yeah. i went to visit her at college a couple of months after she moved, she got quite drunk and babbled everything." gio smiled somewhat sympathetically.

"everything?" "yeah, everything. i had your back though she should have told you her plans and i made sure to let her know how stupid she was to mess everything up." gio shrugged.

"christ did both of our families know?" you huffed with a scowl, forever under the impression your relationship with the striker had been a well kept secret, though as time passed it seemed more and more people had been clued in than you thought.

"not the parents. dunno how they didn't catch on given you and less were hardly subtle, luca and i had our suspicions long before less told me i can promise you that." gio chuckled with a wink making your face heat up as you arrived to the front of the line.

"we're just friends though." you quietly answered his previous question as he gave you a look and nodded, turning toward the cashier with a dazzling smile.

"could i please get a red gunners beanie and a russo home jersey in a size..." he glanced to you clearly waiting an answer as you shrugged cluelessly, never having bought a jersey before. "large." he answered for you and rolled his eyes at how you looked like a fish out of water.

"better too big than too small." he shrugged, pushing you away with a firm shake of his head as you tried to pay, tapping his phone and grabbing the bag with an appreciative smile. "gio!" you hissed with a scowl, punching his arm as he whined and rubbed it.

"a thank you would have sufficed!" he mocked, waving at harry who was wandering about with a confused look a hundred or so metres away.

"put it on we haven't got all day." gio waved impatiently as he handed you the bag and you sighed, stripping off your puffer vest and pulling the jersey on over your hoodie, shrugging the vest back on.

"perfect! now you at least look the part even if you're still as clueless about football as a newborn baby." the boy grinned, yanking the beanie down on top of your head and spinning you around. "i have not missed you." you grumbled as he smacked away your hand from pulling off the beanie.

"aw my little sister in law i love you too." he pinched your cheeks as the two of you caught up to harry, your face going almost as red as your beanie as you were squished between both boys. "did you not get me anything?" you poked your brother accusingly as he handed gio some food but not you.

"you didn't ask for any!" he defended as you all squished into an elevator. "you didn't ask me if i wanted any." you rolled your eyes at his thought process, tuned out by the rumble in the elevator.

"they sometimes have food in the box." gio shrugged as your head whipped toward him and the doors opened, the boy gesturing for you to step out. "the box?" you questioned with a suspicious frown.

"friends and family box." harry answered with a grin, the pair of you following after gio. "he comes with me and luca sometimes." gio answered with a chuckle before you could even ask.

"most of the time mum and dad or some of the extended family come too but they've got some swanky lunch they can't get out of." he shrugged, handing you and harry a lanyard as you only nodded, at a loss for words.

having gotten over your initial shock and now settled in your seats waiting for the match to begin you nodded as both harry and gio seated either side of you attempted to debrief you on everything they felt you needed to know for the game.

you of course were still clueless, focused more on trying to spot alessia as they lined up for the team photos, noting her right away as you hummed, gio and harry sharing a look over your head and rolling their eyes.

it wasn't until half time when you felt like you could finally exhale, a familiar but unwelcome sensation settling in your stomach, worry.

this match had been particularly aggressive, yellow cards hardly in short stock as you winced every time alessia's body went tumbling down onto the pitch, just like you used to all those years ago when you watched her you still worried.

you accepted the drink from gio as he returned with a grateful smile, the older boy just chuckling at the blatant worry in your eyes. "she's fine! she's a big girl she can take a tackle or too, and dish them out." he assured you as you nodded, falling into conversation with harry about lily's upcoming baby shower.

your panic came in a different form the second half, the score locked 1-1 with only injury time remaining you bounced your knee anxiously amusing both boys either side of you who hadn't hesitated to tease you all match about it.

you held your breath as again alessia went down, this time not getting back up as a few of her team mates waved for the medics and she slowly sat up, your grip on your cup tightening.

"hey, she's okay." your brother noticed your discomfort and squeezed your knee, draping his free arm over your shoulder.

"this is sort of insane." you breathed out, having been taken aback all match by the chants and passion of the spectators filling out the stadium, all 59,000+ of them which sent your brain spinning. "yeah next match we'll teach you some chants!" gio grinned, nudging you with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

"or at least alessia's. she'll be horribly offended if you don't know her chant at least!" harry chipped in, both boys clearly doing their best to distract you as alessia was looked over by the medics.

you exhaled as finally she got back to her feet rewarded with a thundering cheer from the supporters, a free kick given for the poor tackle as the stadium exploded in support.

"speaking of!" harry laughed as alessia's name echoed around the pitch. you shook your head with a smile of utter disbelief, you knew she was clearly famous you weren't that naive, but seeing how many people were yelling her name with a clap had your heart bursting with pride.

"so less doesn't have to take the kick right, and they can get their players in front of the ball?" you questioned for clarification as harry nodded, explaining roughly how it would work and what arsenal would try to do to force man city to concede.

you held your breath as two of the arsenal girls lined up for the kick, watching as alessia was shoved and pushed around, repeatedly yanking away hands and arms which jostled and poked at her.

you watched frozen to your seat as the kick was sent in, a mad panic exploding in the box as a flurry and fight of heads, limbs and feet flailed around to try and make contact.

then finally there was a swish as the ball hammered the back of the net, the whistle blew and the stadium exploded.

"oh my god!" your eyes almost bugged at of your head as alessia sprinted away from the goal with her hands in the air, tackled to the ground by her team as you jumped up to your feet alongside nearly every single person in the stadium, cheering loud and proud for the blonde.

"she's still got it." you grinned at gio who laughed and nodded, shoving your head playfully as alessia was announced as the goal scorer and the crowd went mental at a replay of her goal.

"now they just need to park the bus for six minutes." harry whistled, turning and explaining to you right away what he meant before you even had to ask, the three of you settling back into your seats.

you weren't sure quite how but you were near certain you didn't breath for those next six minutes, your eyes widening in shock as with three to go alessia was shown a yellow card and walked off with a roll of her eyes.

"told you she gives as good as she gets sometimes short stack!" gio beamed, full of pride only making you chuckle quietly. "you'd know, she used to beat you up!" you teased the boy who shushed you and pulled the beanie down over your eyes.

you finally let out a deep exhale as the full time whistle sounded, the crowd erupting into cheers of victory as you watched alessia do her laps of the pitch clapping the fans.

"she'll be a fair while, she'll sign some stuff and go shower then come up." gio explained as you all returned inside the box to escape the cold, the weather well and truly taking a turn for the worst as thunder started to rumble in the far off distance.

meanwhile alessia had finally returned to the locker room, unable to wipe the smile off her face as she laughed and sang along to the music leah had blasting all around.

"hey less did your brother get a girlfriend? ben said he was all over some girl he brought with him to the box." beth laughed as alessia pulled a face, grabbing her slides out from her cubby and tying her wet hair up into a bun.

"no? that would be news to me." the blonde frowned with a shrug, shoving her belongings into her bag, now one of the last ones left. though sure enough as she tiredly made her way into the box flanked by vic and kyra her frown returned seeing her brothers arm draped over a girl, both of them with their backs facing her.

but right before she could reach them the girl spoke and shrugged his arm off, making a beeline for the toilet as alessia charged toward her brother. "did you bring a girl to my game and not tell me you were seeing someone!" she accused with an annoyed frown poking at his chest.

"did i what?" he laughed in disbelief, an annoyingly smug grin curling on his lips as he realized where his sisters thoughts were. "yeah actually i brought a little date!" he grinned, knowing the moment you returned everything would fall into place for the striker.

"gio!" alessia huffed punching him in the arm, temporarily distracted as a few of the girls and their family members wandered over and pulled her into conversation. "those bathrooms are so nice!" you marveled, your brother pushing you away as you shoved your hands into his face demanding he smell how good the soap smelled.

gio smirked as at the sound of your voice alessia spun right around, ignoring the questions fired toward her by the small group of people she was with as she finally noticed you, smacking about your brother as he wrapped you into a choke hold.

"i never said who the little date was for." gio smirked as he appeared at alessia's side, the blondes cheeks flushing bright red as she hurried to smooth her jumper out, suddenly wishing she'd made an effort with her hair.

"go on lovergirl, she's even wearing your jersey. you're welcome!" gio whispered, pushing her in your direction as she stumbled slightly and shot him a filthy look over her shoulder.

catching gio's eye harry let go of you and pushed you away, shooting over to the other boys side before you could tell him off, turning around and practically running into a body.

"you're here!" was all alessia managed to get out with wide eyes as you nodded. "i didn't know you were coming." she added on with a nervous smile, shifting her bag on her shoulder.

"not of my own free will. thing one and thing two kidnapped me!" you pointed to your brothers over her shoulder, not missing the strange look which crossed the taller girls face.

"hey, less i'm only joking. you had a great game!" you were quick to make amends, hoping your comment hadn't rubbed her the wrong way. "that volley? class!" you complimented, the blondes lips curling into a surprised grin.

"well well well, look whose been studying her football jargon." alessia teased, nerves melting away as you bumped her with your shoulder and a playful roll of your eyes as the two of you chattered away, everyone else in the room ceasing to exist as you only had eyes for one another.

"i see old habits die hard. will you ever learn?" you sighed dramatically, reaching a hand up to tuck away a loose strand of wet hair out of her eyes. "when have i ever listened to you?" alessia smirked, you having forever warned her against not drying her hair or at least leaving it out.

the two of you so engrossed in conversation alessia failed to notice a few of her friends eyeing the two of you off, laura and leah looking especially pleased as they gave the two of you some space, just sending you a friendly wave from a distance which you returned.

alessia also failed to notice a few of them creeping closer, jolted out of the little bubble with you as an arm slung around her waist with a squeeze. "hello!" vic addressed you as kyra and teyah appeared on alessia's other side and she withheld a groan.

"and who is this?" the dutch girl smirked as alessia shot her daggers briefly. "this is my..." she struggled for a moment giving you a glance. "my y/n." she answered awkwardly, wishing the ground would swallow her up as she shot kyra and teyah a firm glare at their giggles.

"well hello lessi's y/n. pleasure to meet you! i am lessi's vic, this is lessi's kyra and lessi's teyah." vic beamed as you couldn't help but laugh, alessia shoving vics arm away and moving to stand protectively by your side as the three younger girls all began to speak at you.

"oi! lay off she's not a performing monkey." alessia warned, hand settling on the small of your back as you struggled to keep up with the three different accents, lines of conversations and questions. thankfully leah noticed and swooped in, quickly ushering away the three troublemakers as alessia mouthed a thank you.

"they seem fun." you grinned up at the blonde who groaned quietly. "that's one word for them." she sighed. "seem to remind me of a certain outgoing outspoken loud mouthed young striker." you paused to look away contemplatively as alessia cracked a smile, harry and gio joining the two of you, the tall girls hand remaining on the small of your back.

"hey how did you get here?" alessia asked as the boys ducked off to use the toilet, the box clearing out. "i told you, kidnapped!" you teased, alessia's stomach clenching strangely as you smiled up at her and her knees went a bit wobbly.

"would you like to come over for dinner? i'll cook." alessia asked before she could talk herself out of it, nervously playing with the strap of the bag still slung over her shoulder.

"are you asking me on a date?" you asked quietly, smile growing at the slight blush which coated alessia's cheeks. "yeah. is that okay? or we can do something else!" she breathed out, corners of her mouth curling upward as she rocked back and forth on her heels.

"dinner sounds lovely." you agreed, trying to ignore the butterflies swooping and diving around in your stomach as alessia seemed to relax a little. "i'm gonna get a ride back with less." you spoke up as the boys returned, the four of you falling into conversation for a bit before parting ways.

"uhh, stay here for a second. please!" alessia stopped you suddenly after taking you down the back of the stadium, disappearing around a corner as you crossed your arms and waited, eyes roaming the photos of past teams and their victories on the wall.

"okay!" you jumped as alessia suddenly returned, the blonde apologizing with an amused smile nodding for you to follow her again. she lead you out to the back lot, having moved her car away from prying eyes where a few fans were still hanging about.

she wasn't quite ready to have to explain that aspect of her job to you just yet.

"nice jersey, your favorite player?" alessia grinned as the two of you arrived to her place, parking out the front as you rolled your eyes. "don't flatter yourself your brother bought it and forced me into it, and this!" you gestured to the beanie on top of your head which alessia found absolutely adorable.

"ouch, my poor ego!" the blonde sighed dramatically clutching at her chest as you rolled your eyes. "it could use the humbling. we've got, lessi russo! we've got-" you clapped as alessia's cheeks went red and she shoved you mumbling for you to shut up.

"we might need to sprint for it, my umbrella's in the boot." she shifted tones, the rain now hammering down against her car as you hummed in agreement.

"on three?" you nodded as both your hands hovered by the door handles. "three!" alessia announced as you both flung your doors open and made a dash for it, your laughter lost into the mid afternoon air as alessia almost sent herself flying down her stairs.

the two of you collapsed into one another laughing once you were in the safety of her front porch. "whose got wet hair now!" alessia teased tugging your beanie down over your eyes and scrambling for her keys.

"might have to bin this jersey since its all wet, shame." you yanked off the beanie and tousled your hair with your hand, stepping out of your soaking wet shoes as alessia slipped out of her slides both pairs left by the door.

"i can get you another one, even sign it for you if you like." she winked making you roll your eyes as she wasted no time pulling off her sopping wet jumper and gesturing you do the same. "mmm would up the resell value for ebay. have you got a pen handy?" you teased.

"do you want a shower?" the blonde offered kindly, biting her lip to stifle her laughter at both of your soaking wet states. "just some dry clothes if you don't mind." you replied with a somewhat shy smile, alessia nodding and sprinting off before you could say another word.

she returned mere seconds later, a pair of joggers and a hoodie in hand, nodding for you to change and give her your wet clothes so she could put them in the dryer. as the bathroom door closed with a click alessia went into panic mode, racing around her house tidying as well as she could in the small window of time she had to do so.

you couldn't help but inhale once you were changed, now drowned in the familiar smell of your ex girlfriend, though for once it wasn't accompanied with a weird stab of guilt, you allowing yourself to just enjoy the sense of safety and comfort which settled on your shoulders.

what alessia hadn't anticipated was you exiting the bathroom right as she rushed past with a basket piled high of dirty washing she intended to hide, her body slamming into yours and sending the two of you to the ground and her laundry into the air.

"i'm so sorry!" her face paled as she winced and gently peeled off her training shirt from where it had landed on your head, the two of you buried in a mountain of her dirty clothes as alessia wished the ground could swallow her up.

"if this is a way of you telling me to do your washing for you, you could have just asked!" you laughed and rolled off of her, alessia relaxing a little at your reaction, quick to her feet and helping you up to yours.

"two minutes." the striker promised still red with embarrassment, hurrying to shove her clothes back into the basket, grabbing your wet ones from the bathroom floor and darting off into the laundry, yelling out for you to help yourself to anything in the kitchen.

alessia took a moment once her washing was safely in the machine and your clothes in the dryer to collect herself, gripping the bench and taking a few deep breaths, nodding firmly and exiting the room.

an affectionate smile curled onto her lips to see you sat up at the island bench of her kitchen, your legs just a little too short to touch the ground you'd tucked one beneath you and were absentmindedly swinging the other to and from.

alessia would be lying if she didn't something settled over her which could have maybe been described as a sense of possessiveness seeing you sat in her house in her clothes once again. though she quickly tried to shake that off, giving herself a firm reminder the two of you were taking things slow and you were far from being hers anymore.

the large black adidas hoodie she'd given you to change into was big on alessia so it hung down to your mid thigh, and the blonde grinned in amusement seeing you'd had to roll and cuff up the ends of the joggers given her legs were a fair bit longer than yours.

"so whats on the menu chef russo?" you smiled sending her stomach into knots again as she joined you in the kitchen. "what do you feel like?" alessia questioned, washing her hands and rolling up the sleeves of her jumper with a raised eyebrow.

"anything. just no pineapple!" you teased, alessia laughing dryly and flicking water at you from her wet hands before wiping them on a tea towel. "pasta?" you nodded happily.

"just no tomatoes." alessia now teased your own eating habits as you mocked her and pulled a face. "wait, from scratch?" your eyebrows shot up in surprise as alessia breezed around the kitchen pulling out ingredients.

"obviously. did you forget i am italian!" she grinned and you smiled softly seeing her tie an apron around her waist, resisting the temptation to tease her for it and instead settling for enjoying how cute it was that she had one handy.

"half italian." you reminded earning yourself a glare and a middle finger in your direction as a cutting board and knife appeared on the bench in front of you. "make yourself useful would you." alessia smirked, placing down some peppers, onions and carrots on the board and tugging playfully on your ear.

"you know typically when you ask someone on a date and offer to cook them dinner, you don't force them to be your sous chef!" you shook your head but rolled up the sleeves of alessia's hoodie.

"aw you think you're at a sous chef level, that's adorable babe." it was a simple slip up, so much to the point alessia didn't even clock what she'd said but you did, your face burning bright red as you focused your energy into prepping the vegetables as she busied herself making dough.

the two of you fell into conversation about your upcoming weeks, alessia filling you in on her training schedule and commitments as you explained your lesson planning, both of you hanging off the others words, fully engaged in making an effort to show your sincere interest in what the other had to say.

"only you would just casually have things laying about to make pasta from scratch on a sunday night!" you grinned, now stood by the stove keeping an eye on the sauce at alessia's request. "if its not better than anything you've made pre-made i'll retire tomorrow." alessia challenged confidently, moving to take her hoodie off leaving her in joggers and a singlet, not wanting to get flour all over herself.

you wrenched your eyes away from her bare arms as she expertly kneaded the dough, muscles flexing as you turned back to the sauce, stirring it occasionally as a comfortable silence fell between the two of you.

"come here." you glanced up to see alessia wipe away a few small beads of sweat on her forehead, nodding for you to join her. she leaned over and flipped the stove top to the lowest heat it could so the sauce wouldn't burn.

"a pasta making lesson with a real life italian? should be charging." you teased as alessia demonstrated how to fold and roll out the dough, shaping it into spirals melting you a little as she made a point to note she knew they'd been your favorite growing up.

"christ you make this look easy." you credited her as you struggled with the dough, tensing up a little as you felt her body settle in behind you, her front pressed to your back as her bare arms wound around you.

"like this, push with your palms." she murmured, maneuvering your hands with hers on top as she helped you to roll out the dough and shape it like she'd shown. you thought once you started to get the hang of it she might move away but she stayed pressed against you.

"is this okay?" she checked quietly as her hands settled on your waist and her chin rested on your shoulder and you nodded, a little lost for words as waves of emotions you refused to overthink crashed into you, alessia starting to very gently sway the two of you.

"perfect!" the blonde beamed proudly as you finished rolling out and shaping your half of the dough. "had a decent teacher i guess." you smiled, craning your head back to gently kiss her cheek as alessia's hairs stood on end and she pushed herself away from you, moving to quickly finish off her half of the dough as you returned to the sauce.

on her orders you had a pot of water waiting to boil, leaving the sauce to thicken on low as you moved to watch her finish off the pasta. "do you want a pro tip?" alessia smiled as you nodded, gesturing for her continue.

"always flour your board." you gasped as her finger reached out and rubbed flour all over your nose, the taller girl grinning clearly quite pleased with herself. not even waiting to speak your hand darted out into the leftover flour, your hand pressing against her cheek leaving a white hand mark on the side of her face.

that seemed to open the floodgates as you chased one another around the island flicking and smacking flour against one another until alessia called for a truce, wincing at the flour which now coated her once clean floors.

however as the two of you retreated back toward the stove in typical alessia fashion, she slipped.

"less!" you cried out as she grabbed out for you to steady herself, instead taking you down with her, your body landing on top of hers as you both groaned.

"i'm beginning to think you do this on purpose now!" you tutted, hint of a smile on your lips. hyper aware of her large hands resting on your back an odd sense of deja vu settled over the pair of you, neither of you paying attention to anything than one another when you suddenly found yourself admiring and studying over ever little feature of her face, alessia doing the exact same.

just like clockwork the longer you maintained eye contact the smaller and smaller the room seemed to become, alessia's eyes flickering down to your lips just for a fleeting second.

"would it be too fast if i kissed you again?" the girl whispered, eyes still locked with yours as you gave a small shake of your head. "please." was all you managed to breathe out.

your hand moved to brush a few strands of her golden blonde hair out of her face, leaning in ever so slowly.

just like last time your hands moved to tangle in her hair now brushed out and dry again, and in turn alessia's own hands came to rest on either side of your face, thumbs tracing soft circles on your jaw, ever so gently guiding your mouth within millimeters of her own.

you both sighed as your lips met, the kiss slow and calculated and tender. alessia kissed you like you were made of glass, terrified that one wrong move and you'd break, her lips soft and inviting as they moved against yours.

you parted your own slightly as her teeth ever so gently tugged at your bottom lip, her tongue slipping into your mouth as the kiss became just a little less sweet.

though you hissed and pulled away at the feeling of something burning your neck, the blonde underneath yours eyes widening as she tightened her hold on your face and sat up taking you with her.

"what's wrong? was that too much? too fast? i'm so sorry." she rambled out, chest heaving with worry as you were quick to shake your head. "i think something bit me!" you gently moved her hands off your face and turned your head, moving your hair out of the way as alessia frowned and glanced at your neck.

but everything suddenly made sense as she heard a strange noise and looked up to the stove, realizing exactly what had happened.

"shit the water's over boiled!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

thirteen

our cute little lovers seemingly all happy but will it last?

what do we think is going to happen? what do you want to see happen?

[wisteria-voice]

The meaning of a "half a step"

Oh yeah, some strange ramblings about the Purple Haze Feedback, again ._.

*PURPLE HAZE FEEDBACK SPOILERS AHEAD*

“…”

These are Giorno’s words to a distressed Fugo in the restaurant scene at the end of PHF:

“Half a step,” he said. “If you can’t take a step forward, then I’ll step halfway to you.”

“Everything hinges on your decision, but if grief anchors your feet, then let me share it.”

Oh Gio ;_;

Okay, what really struck me about Gio’s words is the concept of a “half a step.” This wording piqued my interest, it was so unusual. Like… why not a step.

People are used to the metaphor of “a step” when talking about some small action or progress. For example, “to make a step forward,” “to move in small steps,” “to take smth step by step,” “one step at a time” etc. In all these common expressions we operate with the concept of a whole “step” as the smallest indivisible unit. And what is a step? It is a completed action. There is a purpose, an effort, an action, and a conclusion. A step has a beginning and an end. Raise your leg, put it down, pull the other one. You’ve moved forward. Even if it’s for a little – still, you’ve moved forward. That’s it.

But the situation is different with a “half of a step”.

You may not even move forward. Imagine that you raised your leg and froze in place %)) A half-step is exclusively an impulse to an action, a desire to carry it out, a decided direction.

So. I thought that I REALLY NEEDED that kind of concept when I was fighting with depression.

In this state, you are often paralyzed to the point when sometimes completing any action, even an insignificant daily thing, becomes an impossible task. The realization that you can’t execute it brings you down even more. And! There is a lot of advice to move in small steps etc (because these are the expressions we are used to!), but even one completed step is too much. It is a subconscious perception of the common wording.

Fugo appears as a heavily depressed teen during the PHF events: that culminates in him experiencing a breakdown in front of Gio, and the weight of the survivor’s guilt literally paralyzes him.

But it is not necessary to take even a completed step towards me, says Giorno. Half a step would be enough. Even if you can’t move forward - that's ok, I just need to understand that, deeply in your heart, you want to, you are willing to try. That is the minimum that we can work with. That will be enough for me to help you.

Gio is so thoughtful and empathetic with this word choice. I was in awe. Made me rethink his portrayal in the series (although PHF is considered to be slightly off canon).

Oh, and I printed out this "half a step" and pinned it near my desk. It's such a delicate and kind reassurance that helps a lot when I don't have enough strength to act.

Forgive me for hyperanalyzing, I LOVE the way purple haze feedback is written

Take a look at another neat thing about Purple Haze Feedback ending :3

[iwaoiamiright]

guys. GUYS. why doesn't the We Are fandom explore jealous peem more? imagine the absolute POTENTIAL. like peem is a calm boy he's pretty confident in everything, pretty chill and so secure in his relationship with phum. so he's not quick to jump to any major reactions when he catches people staring at phum or people coming up to talk to him. peem knows phum is attractive and people can see it and get curious. there's also this one time when peem was sooo entertained by a waiter who tried to flirt with phum when he was on a date with peem. he gave them desert for free but phum simply tipped him extra saying he appreciates it but can cover for himself and his date. peem had just looked up at the waiter with a VERY delighted smile and the waiter bowed, apologized to peem and went away. when phum was unable to understand why the waiter had apologized, peem had laughed and explained how the waiter may have a crush on his hot boyfriend. so it really makes no sense that there's an uneasy feeling at the pit of his stomach as he's sitting next to phum in his car, on the way to pick up “an old friend" from the airport.

phum had told him only two days ago, when they were sitting by his pool area that an old friend from Italy had reconnected with him and wanted to meet him

“he found me on Facebook like a month ago and said he's coming to Bangkok for some work so I offered to pick him up and show him around." Phum had told him. Peem had nodded and ruffled his hair.

but now he saw how giddy Phum was in the car. “Back in Italy, I didn't have many friends But Gio was so outgoing and funny. he took me to see some museums and fun places in that area. we were kids of course so this one time, the police chased us because we were outside past 10 PM. he complained to the house master the next day too.” Phum said, laughing at the memory. Peem laughed with him, the weird bubbling in his stomach intensifying. peem had been with phum for over a year now and although he knew a lot about Phum, there were still parts of his life he was unwilling to discuss. that included his time away in Italy when he felt alone and lost. he had once said he doesn't remember most of his days abroad. because of how sad he used to be. Peem had sympathized. if he remembers this Gio person. of course those times might have been,,, happy. and that is a part of Phums life peem has no access to but clearly this Gio person does. Peem sighs, calming himself and focusing more on Phums rambles.

they reach the airport and phum brings out a sign from his car trunk and holds it high so it's visible from the terminal gate. Peem checks the sign and it's in a language he can't read. this further makes his stomach twitch.

“What does it say?" he asks phum, pointing at the sign. Phum snorts.

“It's just a nickname I gave him in italian. i wonder if he still remembers it.” Peem nods again, feeling a strange prickly heat on his skin upon hearing about an inside nickname. he takes one of Phums hands off the sign and entwines their fingers, bringing their clasped hands downwards. Phum doesn't react but it calms peems itchy skin a little. they stand there for some time, phums thumb rubbing small circles on peem's backhand, making him relax. then suddenly, his hand is released . peem is still unfocused as he whips his head sideways to see Phum waving his hand and shouting. Peem looks towards the terminal gate in time to see a tall foreigner with light brown hair and a suitcase wave back at them. so that's Gio. okay. the guy walks over and let's go of his suitcase and launches himself at phum, who drops the sign he was holding and hugs back. the whole scene is overly dramatic and makes peems gut wrench violently and for a moment he feels like he's gonna throw up. they embrace for what seems like an eternity (in peem's opinion) and then separate, Gio holding phum at arm's length and saying something in some language peem couldn't understand. Phum could, apparently. and he laughed, saying something back and clapped Gio on his bicep before finally, finally stepping away. Phum waved to Peem and introduced him. Gio nodded and looked at Peem with polite curiosity. Peem felt a little bad for thinking about overrunning him with a car. Gio extended a hand to him in polite introduction.

“Hello, nice to meet you. I'm Giovanni. Gio for short." he said in heavily accented English. Peem nodded and took his hand, “I'm Peem. Welcome to Bangkok." he finished with a smile.

Giovanni gave him a happy nod before turning back to Phum and saying something in Italian again. Phum just laughed and nodded. They could communicate without Peem knowing what they were saying and it made him feel like his throat was clogged. Phum and Gio both lifted the heavy suitcase into the back of Phum's car and shut it. surprisingly, Gio walked over and positioned himself in the car's passenger seat. Peem considered opening the door and pulling him out by force. Phum, seemingly having no issue with this, opened the back seat door for Peem, still smiling ear to ear. Peem gave him a pointed glare before going inside and pulling the car door closed.

The car started and the road back was one of the worst trips of peem's life. Okay maybe he was exaggerating. But Phum and Gio kept talking back in forth in Italian and English, Peem not understanding most of the conversation. Phum also tried to translate some things that made them laugh a lot into Thai but the effect was lost in translation. Peem only nodded, seeing the two interact, feeling an especially strong tug in his gut when Gio slapped his hand across Phum's thigh while laughing too hard. Peem was glad they were close to Phum's house because he was pretty sure he would do something drastic if this charade continued. something clicked in his head.

“Where are you staying?” he asked in English in a loud and clear voice.

The laughing at the front of the car ceased, Gio turning to look at him as if he had only just remembered Peem's presence in the car. Peem's frown deepened.

“Actually I was planning to stay at a hotel but Phum insisted I stay over at his place." Giovanni answered, flashing his white teeth at Peem, teeth he really wanted to knock out by now.

“He's staying at your condo?" Peem asked Phum, switching back to Thai, not even bothering to keep the bite out of his voice.

“No there's not enough space. He'll stay at my parent's house. It's only for 6 days and then he's out of Bangkok” Phum explained, making eye contact with Peem in the car mirror. “Do you want him to stay over at my house?" Phum asked, his eyebrow raised, small smile playing on his lips.

“No." Peem answered before he even realized it, crossing his arms and holding his gaze in the mirror, daring Phum to say anything about how bothered Peem was at the idea. Phum doesn't. he just looks forward and keeps driving.

they reach Phum's house and Peem volunteers to help get the suitcase out of the trunk with phum, insisting Gio is a guest and shouldn't strain himself so much. In reality he just didn't want this dude in close proximity to graze Phum's shoulder. which he did instead. when Phum opened the trunk and Peem stepped forward to take out the luggage, their shoulders brushed and they both made brief eye contact before Peem cleared his throat loudly and held the bag more firmly. Phum helped him drag it out and closed the trunk.

“Are your parents home?” Peem asked as he helped Phum pull the suitcase past the main door. “No they're away for some days. Fang should be home tonight though."

“I hope Tan isn't here too." Peem said and Phum chuckled, turning back to Gio and once again engaging in conversation with him. When the door opened, Fang was there, chatting to Tan. Both the boys got introduced to Gio as Peem just awkwardly walked over and sat down on the couch. After introductions, Phum walked over and joined him on the couch while the others took seats around them. Fang, Peem and Phum could easily keep track of the conversation with Giovanni which happened in part English and part Italian. Fang paused every now and then to explain things to Tan to keep him in the loop. When Phum and Gio started talking about more of their adventures as kids and Gio leaned over, wrapping an arm around Phum's shoulder, Peem had had enough. He grabbed Phum's hand and tugged. Phum turned to him, his eyes curious and Peem yawned, giving him a tired stare. Phum nodded in understanding. He announced that they'll be heading back soon so he should show Gio his room, as he should rest as well from the flight. He said something in Italian and Gio nodded, getting up and stretching himself. he said it's great to meet all of them and he hopes to know all of them better over the next few days. Peem lets his eyes trail after them as they both walk up the stairs, dragging Gio's suitcase.

“He's quite handsome” Tan comments, bringing Peem's attention back to the other two. he scowls.

“Phum really likes him, huh?" Tan says. Peem glares at him, daring him to speak more.

“Hm. He must. he's letting the guy stay in his old room.” Fang comments, glancing very pointedly at Peem.

“He's what?" Peem says, standing up and already marching towards the staircase, ignoring Tan's comment of “watch your step" as he stomped upstairs, towards Phum's bedroom. he pushes open the bedroom door to find it empty. he closes the door and looks around to spot another open door down the hallway. He marches over and finds Phum standing by the closet, saying something to Gio who was lounging in the bed across the room. phum pauses, apparently in the middle of explaining how much storage the room has and looks at Peem.

“Ao peem. I was just showing Gio around the room and where to place things. do you need anything?” he says, closing the door and walking towards peem.

“Why's he staying in your room?” Peem asks, ignoring Gio completely and pinning his boyfriend with a glare. Phum looks at him stunned.

“This is the guestroom" Phum says, leveling Peem with a knowing look. Peem blinks, once, twice then looks around the room then to the befuddled Gio who just waves at him with a smile. Peem returns the wave and looks back at Phum, who has a small satisfied smirk in place. It irks peem, who feels his ears heat up and withdraws quickly. “Well hurry up. I want to go back home and sleep." he says while rushing out of the room and running back down, fixing Fang with a death glare as he asks ��why did you lie to me? he's not staying in Phum's room."

Fang just laughed, trying to keep Tan on the sofa as he was at risk of toppling over from how hard he was laughing. Fang stopped laughing to catch his breath as Peem settled back down on the sofa, kicking Tan's leg to get him to stop laughing.

“Sorry Peem. it's just we've never seen you like this.” Fang apologized

“Like what?"

“Being jealous" Tan said in an annoying singsong voice. Peem kicked him again.

“I am not jealous. Why would I even be jealous? Phum is my boyfriend and that's just an old friend he barely knows. he's just being nice." Peem said, settling into a comfortable position, leaning back on the couch and folding his arms and legs.

“Right that's why you're pouting." Fang said happily, squishing peem's cheeks. Peem slapped his hands away.

“Okay I've shown him around. We'll leave now, Fang. Peem is pretty sleepy today." Phum said, walking to stand behind the couch and laying a hand on peem's shoulder, who shrugged it off.

“okay. you have a whole day planned with him tomorrow, right?” Fang says, fixing Peem with another stare who just looks up at Phum, stunned.

“You're spending tomorrow with him?" Peem asks.

“I was going to ask to ask you to join too.” Phum said, leaning down and looping his arms around peem's neck. “Will you join me in showing Gio around the city?" he asked, his voice soft.

“No." Peem says, shoving off Phum's arms and getting off the sofa. “Go enjoy your date with your Gio all bt yourself." he says before marching out of the house, ignoring the fresh bout of laughter echoing in his wake.

phum joins him in the car a bit later, putting on his seatbelt and leaning over to touch Peem's hair. “Peem." he calls in the deep voice that makes peem's knees go weak. “What's wrong? You've been so irritated all day. Tell me?” phum says in a gentle tone.

Peem huffs, pushing his hand away. “Just drive. I want to get home." he says.

“No." Phum says firmly, taking his hands off the steering wheel and turning to face peem completely. “We're not moving until you tell me what's bothering you."

peem rolls his eyes and scoffs. “Like you don't know?”

Phum chuckles softly. “You're jealous?” he asked sounding way too delighted.

peem just scoffs further and folds his arms tighter around his chest.

“So will you go tomorrow? it'll be a fun day. please, peem?" phum asks, starting up the engine and reversing the car out of the estate.

“Of course I'll go." Peem declares. Like hell he'll let Gio monopolize Phum's time for a whole day.

[dandylovesturtles]

Now that 2024 is coming to a close:

1) Of everything you've made this year, which ones are you the most proud of?

2) What are a few of your favorite things (art, comics, fics, etc) that someone else has made this past year?

(Gonna apologize in advance that this answer won’t have specific links because I moved fast)

1. Well, this year I finished I May Be Invisible, But I Still Look Good, which was a major accomplishment for me! It’s the longest thing I’ve ever written, and I was really proud of myself for sticking it out to the end. It got way bigger than I ever expected, and big thanks again to everyone who came on the ride with me.

Of the things I started this year, my favorite has been the emotional support water bottles AKA Room Fic. Kind of insane to think I came up with the first one while eating lunch and dropped all my plans for the afternoon to write the whole thing in one day lol! I hope to get the last followup done soon, I’ve just had a little trouble getting my mojo.

There’s another project I started this year that I hoped to have out already but maybe sometime in the first part of next year. I’m excited to share it when it’s done!

2. Oh boy I’ll try to get everything!

I of course enjoyed some ongoing projects this year, including Replica AU by @kathaynesart, Sep Leo AU by @dianagj-art, 2 Arms Left by @intotheelliwoods, Adagio in Green by @boxfullaturtles, and Empyrean Weeping by @cupcakeslushie! Also shoutout to the @tizeline Sep AU where Donnie is the most chaotic only child, and @vangh17a ‘s Wanderer comic which is beautiful and intriguing.

@remedyturtles broke all our hearts with Firefight this year and I had a great time teaming up during the AU Comp! Also LOVED their fic about third man syndrome, but I’m always a sucker for Leo and his papa.

I love everything @goodlucktai has ever written but I especially loved the recent A Team fics and also the Archer AU! Gio is so precious

On the subject of lost siblings, I am privileged to be the beta reader for @kiaxet ‘s fic Siblingquest. Cissy is also precious, and I’m really excited about Kia’s future plans for the story!

And there’s just been a ton of great art this year from so many people, including @e-turn @trilobitepunch @koolaidashley and so many others. I know I’m missing so many people but this community is just full of talented, amazing artists!

And finally, my biggest love and shoutout for this year goes to @untitled-tmnt-blog , who not only makes GORGEOUS art pieces, but who made me a whole physical BOOK for IMBI!! Seriously the most touching thing anyone has ever done for me. PLEASE check out untitled’s art (and writing!) because everything she does is amazing.

And so many others who have talked with me about this fun show and who listen to me rambling about my endless AU ideas. You are all so cool. Here’s to 2025!

And thanks for the ask!

[goodlucktai]

absolutely maniacally OBSESSED with gio and the archer au /Massive Pos /Aff

I have SO many rambles and questions but I shall CONTAIN myself like a sane person!!!

First things first: I was reading the Baby!Gio posts and felt my heart get violently strangled(/pos) and so I went and rescrolled through Everything(tm) again...

....and refound the lil Gio comics and how the thunder scared him when he was sitting with Leo.

Is Gio afraid of thunder/loud noises because his very first experience as a tot was the lab literally exploding and sending him crashing into a different place entirely alone? Like maybe he doesn't really remember it, but SOMETHING in him does....

first of all, thank you !! 🩶 any time anyone is nice to my son i gain a billion HP

i was holding onto this ask because i was hoping to use it to write a little prompt fill about the events that made baby gio so terrified of thunderstorms, but i felt bad leaving it unanswered for so long ! if down the road one of us does write that chapter (hopefully sol who came up with the idea in the first place), i will try to remember to tag you in it

the bare bones of it is that when gio was very little he begged his at the time foster parents to let him go outside and play in the rain, make his little aquatic turtle instincts happy. he whined and pleaded, the whole nine yards, like any other toddler acting their age. the foster parents turned it into a teaching moment by letting him into the backyard and then locking the door so he couldn't come back inside even after he'd gotten his fill of splashing around, even after the storm clouds got darker and the rain came down harsher. this was what he wanted so he better enjoy it. maybe it would teach him to be more obedient

gio got very sick after that and was moved out of their care, but the damage was done. he's outgrown his fear of thunderstorms now, because he's pragmatic to his core, but he never managed to shake his dislike of them. he subconsciously associates rain with a foggy, feverish memory of begging on someone's back porch to be let back inside

but ! eventually he might learn to associate rainy days with something kinder :)

[winsdayink]

great way to start April- wait im literally posting on April fools sdfghjk

Anyway its Silver again sue me, but this ones the Luca from RR!Gio's world. Rambling under the cut

"An alternate universe Giovanni appears in Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon's Episode RR post-game story as the Boss of Team Rainbow Rocket. This version of Giovanni came from a universe where Team Rocket succeeded in taking over the world."

In a world where Giovanni and Team Rocket succeeded that means he would've been there to raise his son. "Raise." You know he had two grunts to babysit him and then spoiled him to hell and back, and now he hates his son who's irresponsible n cocky as hell.

When Gio leaves to take over other universes he leaves Archer and Ariana in charge of the important things. Luca demands to be given the gym but Gio will absolutely not allow that, leaving Archer in charge. After all, Luca's the type of person who will simply buy "better" pokemon should he lose without bothering to improve himself. The only exception is Houndoom who was raised by Archer as per Gio's demands and given to Luca as his first pokemon.

With his pride wounded, Luca proceeds to cause trouble with the squad he's been allowed to be in charge of making sure to swing the Team Rocket name around everywhere to demand respect.

Oh but you know the second he gets his ass beat the bravado's completely collapsing

ref:

[zephyrus-gremlin]

WAKE UP PEOPLE ITS UPDATE TIME‼️‼️‼️

You know what time it is >:) MY INSANE RAMBLING WOOOOOOO

Spoilers ahead <3

^ MALO MART MENTION 🗣️‼️‼️‼️ i can already hear the theme song from a mile away

And poor Four got chores from Gramps HA-

^ AHAHAHAHA NOOOOOO SKY- he misses his wife yall </3 got a broken heart due to no mail from his girl 😔

^ GET THERAPY’D IDIOT HA!

Therapy Trio <3 (shoutout to Spring Gio on the LU discord for the name, this now my favorite group)

I also hope Wild and Four cause absolute CHAOS for Twi because those two teaming up is very silly but very deadly >:)

*WAILS* EPONA DID THE BOTW HORSE EFFECT- *sobs* She missed him sm (it’s technically been a year since she’s seen him too LMAO

^ ABSOLUTE GREMLINS. YESSSSS HOP OVER PROPERTY STAIRS ARE FOR LOSERS‼️

“Be normal!” Sir all of you are named Link and have a love for breaking pottery. Y’all are “allergic” to normalcy /j

^ I firmly believe this man would rather sell his soul than agree that Wars isn’t broke LMAO

AND THEY’RE OFF‼️ Back on the road again for the gang :D

(One day Four’s hood won’t cover his DAMN shield and Wind will finally notice how similiar it is and they’ll be family i swear guys its canon you gotta believe me-)

[chekensheppppp]

I would love to hear about any head canons you have for the two not so very great dads :3 💖

I HATE THEM!!! 😡😤 (proceeds to make art, stories, and headcanons of them as they occupy my mind space for how many months already) (slight suggestive warning for some of these HCs)

I like to think they dated way before the present time (they dated in college, this hc is long so i'm not adding it here rn). So in the present games where they meet again (USUM's RR and Masters) Ghetsis slowly starts to develop romantic feelings for Giovanni (again). This bothers him to no end, especially since he suspects that Gio knows. Mafia man does figure out and secretly uses it to his advantage in their rivalry. Overtime though, Gio starts to feel mutual (again). This leads to him subtly flirting with Lettuce causing the latter to grow even more frustrated with his romantic man crush. He shouldn't fall in love with his enemy for world domination yet he did and he suspects that the other likes him too so now he's even more infuriated.

The jist of their dynamic pre-relationship is just Ghetsis being a tsundere who is also obsessed with the don bastardo (which he tells himself is hatred) and Gio being a smug flirt that takes any chance he gets to infuriate lettuce priest more.

They're very professional, most people wouldn't even notice that there's something going on between these two since they act all curt and business like everywhere. But if one stops and observes them, they'd notice how there is a minuscule hint of fondness in the way they speak to each other and how they have their own code in saying their affections. Also, look closely and you'll realize the glances they share have a deeper meaning than just mere looks. To put it short, they have a lot of eye sex, it's subtle but once you notice it, it becomes clear as day. Their grunts feel awkward whenever they end up noticing; it feels like they're intruding on private matters though they're not sure what.

Ghetsis has mobility issues, particularly his BW2 rendition, and he can't really walk and run for long distances anymore. Good thing he has a strong, beefy stud of a boyfriend to carry him around. Whenever Gio does that, Ghet becomes extremely flustered but doesn't stop him. While he does prefer dealing with his own problems and issues himself with the stubborness and persistence of a lone wolf, he's still a sucker for being treated and pampered like royalty. (After all, he is from a royal lineage and a pompous fuck)(expect a comic based on this soon)

In most other ships that involve Gio, he tends to subtly tune down his cruel, aggressive, and domineering traits for his partner and tries to be more considerate, slow and careful (still keeps the charming mafia godfather vibe tho). In this case, he doesn't. Being that they're both old and shitty bastards, Gio doesn't feel the need to adjust himself much for Ghet since he doesn't play nice either. If anything, he can be as blunt and straightforward as he wants to be. He won't hesitate to just slam the green-haired maniac down his office desk, rip apart his robes and have his way with him until sunrise.

Ghetsis likes to ramble and rant about whatever, whenever convenient. Gio doesn't mind this and lets him go on about whatever topic his partner wants to talk about. Usually he'd also return a comment if the other inquires on what he thinks or when he so chooses but in some instances, Gio just gets lost in the sound of Ghetsis voice, how he would be so full of emotion and conviction in the way he speaks and just the sound of it all can be what he considers music to him. You can tell he's not really paying attention to what Ghetsis says and is just enjoying the sound of his voice when he looks at him utterly lovestruck (well, as lovestruck as how a hardened mafia boss can be)

There are only a handful of people Ghetsis would allow to touch his hair; his hair care routine takes a long time to do and anyone that messes with it is basically asking for death. Gio is one of those few people. This pretty much means that he trusts him enough now to let him touch his hair and boy, he made a pretty good decision. Feeling his hand comb through his locks feels soothing and well, he does like how he pulls his hair from behind whenever they fck.

Gio most definitely had a long list of past lovers and even now that he's seeing someone, he still has many others clamoring to be with him. Ghetsis does not like this one bit. Whenever he's with Gio and someone tries to get too close to Gio, he just shoots them a scowl that can make milk sour up immediately and sticks closer to Gio. Gio does tell him to calm down about it and that he's a grown ass man who can make his own decisions but he does find it endearing seeing how much Ghetsis is in love with him.... even if it is going full possesive, but he can deal with that. (expect a comic on this too)

Curse that one deactivated blog for giving Gio a thing for Ghet's legs because now, I actually like the idea of it. Gio simply loves his tall, GNC, gossip girl, murderous megalomaniac boyfriend and his long ass legs.

There's something so funny about them getting married and Gio going like "Now that we're married, it's only fair that I give you something that you've always wanted." And straight up presents Ghet with a gun and says, "Let's shoot up a police station as part of our honeymoon, amore mio Harmonia." And Ghet is all sparkly eyed and delighted and goes "You know me so well, Sakaki dear." And their children are just screaming in horror in the background, "DON'T MAKE HIM MORE OF A THREAT THAN HE ALREADY IS!!!!"

and yeah that's it for now, this is getting too long lol

[echochqmber]

HI!!!

For the WIP game, I'm high key freaking out because YOU'RE DOING A SEQUEL?? FOR "FROM THE HILLTOPS OF HELL"??? YOOOOOO!!!! I'M SO HYPED ACTUALLYYY

I'm also super interested to hear about your longfic as well. So I'm gonna ambitiously ask two hahah

#1 and #9? (You can pick one if two is too many ❤️)

heyo!! thank you for letting me ramble hehe

longfic - prayer that finds no melody

it's a collaboration with gilli, who first came up with the concept and made some amazing art to go with it

final word count is 50k, with sixteen chapters

it's a dual timeline, with half of each chapter taking place in the past and half of each chapter taking past in the present

in this world, every god is the god of Something. xie lian is the god of nature, mu qing is the god of survival, shi qingxuan is the ill-fitting goddess of strategy, etc.

what you're the god Of isn't set in stone either. it can change based on your perception of yourself + the world's perception of you.

and... the fthoh sequel!!

it was always the plan to write a sequel for this fic, which would be a full on role reversal au after where things were left off

i've been working on it on the side since before i published fthoh

a big theme of the story is Failure, and how you should react to that. both xie lian and hua cheng failed in their big goals in fthoh, and their reactions to that are a major driving force

Grief is also still a major theme. grief for the past self, grief for what could have been, grief for what's been lost

hua cheng is aiming for revenge on jun wu. ironically, he wants jun wu to experience the same suffering xie lian did, and so is trying to sow instability among jun wu's followers

of course, hua cheng isn't very stable either. if you remember his mental state in fthoh. well. now he's so much worse

xie lian is trying to fix some of the wrongs he committed. a big thing for that is the human face disease. another big thing is him still wanting to help wu ming.

xie lian is also Not Doing Great.

music was a big inspiration for fthoh (considering the whole fic was inspired by a gio navas song) and it's a big inspiration here too! a sneak peak at my playlist - "i have no doubt" by chxrlotte, "loving thieves" by gio navas, and "biblical love" by flower face.

thank you again for letting me ramble!!

SEND ME AN ASK ABOUT ONE OF MY WIPS

[aheathen-conceivably]

you know, it's kind of painful to see Jo's internal struggle. But what about Gio? Does he feel this her tension or is he really happy with the way things are?

Hello again my dearest and thank you for your question! You know I haven’t forgotten about my favorite sad boy, and I’m glad to see you haven’t either. Time to grab a chair and get ready for today’s Ted Talk with a Heathen…

Actually we gunna go under the cut cause yall I rambled to oblivion and beyond, who woulda guessed? 🤣

As it stands, Gio is very happy with the way things are. Except he’s only able to do this by more or less ignoring Jo’s feelings (because despite her best attempts to hide it, it’s still palpable to anyone who loves her), or writing it off as something else (which we see him do in the most recent post).

You see, Gio knows he’s at least partially responsible for Jo’s unhappiness. He knows he lied to her and more or less manipulated her to get what he wanted even if he’s able to tell himself part of it was for everyone’s safety/happiness. It’s something that he struggled with during the early part of the decade, but now that she’s seemingly adjusted and very purposefully trying to hide her true feelings, Gio has accepted his actions and embraced their new lives.

Because at least at this point in his life, Gio wants what he conceives to be the American Dream. He thinks it’s the key to happiness and success, and as we’ll see, is very deeply rooted in his own internal struggles and past. Part of this is embodied in his journey out West, the classic American idea that he can own land and “make it” simply through hard work and will. With over a year left on his loan maturation, Gio is happy with his position on his farm. Thanks to Zelda (which he’s very aware of and thankful to her), at least that aspect of his American dream has come true.

Now of course the secondary part of the “classic” American dream is that Gio wants a family. As discussed here, Gio is fine with not having children. Mostly for that reason, their current living situation works very well for him. Gio is gregarious and social, fond of having friends always nearby. He’s living with his best friends and niece, all of whom he loves spending time with and satiates the need to be surrounded by family (since he may have issues with his own 👀).

But beyond that, Gio wants a wife. He wants what he’s been told is the core and central unit to living a fulfilling life and making all his dreams come true. He is also still naive enough to think that it will solve many of he and Jo’s problems, because he’s absolutely convinced that life can be improved by the virtue of certain choices alone. And as Jo astutely realizes in the last post:

Gio has seemingly gotten what he’s always wanted: his own land, a family, and the wife that eluded him so many times before. He’s buried his guilt from what he did to get it, and his life is more or less stable. He thinks he has little to worry about, other than maybe the loan in a year or two, continuing to provide for his found family, and emotionally supporting Josephine so long as it doesn’t pop the bubble that he’s finally gotten what he wanted.

His American dream has seemingly come true. Only he’s sacrificed the women he loves to get it, and he hasn’t realized it yet.

[emchovy]

Learned about the release of this book real late, (as in, this February, when I decided that I wanted to show my roommate Epithet for the first time) but thankfully that was just in time to preorder a copy of the hardcover release, which finally came.

Or well, it came yesterday, and I'm finished reading it now. It was AMAZING.

The writing style is pretty different from the stuff I normally read, but once I got in the groove, I felt like I didn't need the audiobook (which I'm definitely gonna get eventually) because I could basically hear all the characters in my head. Also, spoilers for the rest of my review. Pick up a copy. You won't regret it.

I say review. This is disconnected rambling. Also, seriously, spoilers for the whole book delivered in a random out-of-context way.

This book is definitely Molly's story more than anything, and beyond that it's a story between Molly and her sister Lorelei. Two kids with epithets, and opposite personalities. There's a really masterful job here of balancing realistic family drama with the fun, villain vs. hero hijinks.

I love a pathetic loser, and so I was immediately taken by Rick Shades, and his quest for friends, to the point I was getting bummed out when he kept getting rebuffed lololol. However, it was all earned in the end. The scene with him and Molly was <3. Also, I am glad he's gonna get a job. Of some sort.

Naven meeting Molly in the street and just agreeing to give her speech training is an incredibly cute concept.

I liked the Neo Trio a lot, but they're surprisingly not the new faves I expected them to be, though I did laugh pretty much every time at the running joke with Feenie and money.

Actually, my favorite new character was probably Lorelei. We love a girl who's making every wrong decision and also just doesn't leave the house anymore and wonders what's wrong. Also, the Martin + Lorelei relationship was also pretty intriguing. He's more supportive of Lorelei, she's got more of his traits, but Lorelei needs someone who'll help her manage better. Martin's vague support of her 'playing', as Molly puts it, is doing more harm than good. I wasn't exactly sure how to take the fact that Martin constructs Lorelei's ideas in the real world, also. Is he plagiarizing? I wouldn't read it that way, but he's also not collaborating with Lorelei, so they could build something together. A relationship that could go either collaborative or parasitic, depending.

Also, I want Lorelei to get better (and I fully believe she will) but I really liked the end. She needs some time in the real world right now, to grapple with her actions. Neven's gentle support was good. Her and Molly need time apart, so that they can be able to be together again.

Gio and Molly remain duo of all time. Every interaction they have is cute and/or funny. Two characters I could probably enjoy watching/reading about doing basically any boring task you can think of and enjoy. Painting a fence, doing laundry, vacuuming, whatever.

Giovanni's complete blindness to romance was so fuckin' funny in this book. Him and Lorelei and him and Crusher were also distinctly different levels of complete obliviousness.

Also, Crusher and Molly, right at the end <3!! Pulling out the stool for her, her getting reassured by the fact she was nervous. Augh. So sweet. I've reread that scene like 4 times. I do hope we get Molly hanging out with more of The Boys. Crusher's coming across like a pretty gentle sweetie, but I'm very curious about how she'll integrate into the larger group.

All of that to say! Good book!! Would recommend! I'm extremely excited for Sweet Escape.

[zoomerinaboomercostume]

Epithet Erased/ Fiends & Fire CYOA AU

(Idea from @ramblings-from-the-ether 's AU poll right here. They chose to make a Prohibition AU, but they let others use the discarded concepts & expand on them.) Link to the CYOA here. (Fair warning, on Imgur & rather long.) Now that the credits are out of the way... This AU takes place in an alternate industrial revolution upset by every supernatural force at once because they weren’t invited to New Year’s celebrations. As a result, organizations church-sponsored, state-sponsored & private formed to combat the darkness.

Now that the basic concepts have been established, the ideas:

-Anyone in their 20s or below are born after the New Year's Bloodletting (the worldwide havoc mentioned above), so that excludes the Neo Trio, Gio, Sylvie & Stink for named characters. -This is Everyone Adopts Molly (EAM) adjacent, so Molly gets all the support she needs. Lorelai's fine, just newly apprenticed in the Roughhouse Witch Coven/Clan to gain some much-needed character development & lessons in how to use her magic responsibly (Gio managed to convince them to take her in when he recognized she was born with magic, there not being many other options for her in Sweet Jazz City). -Bliss Ocean are good guys here! Well, mostly. They do mean well & their Fiend-Hunting skills are genuinely good, but until recently they did not get along with the authorities very well. It's a step-up from the terrorists of Canon. -Rick is a half-Sidhe (this setting's Fae) here. Not a Changeling, a true Human-Sidhe hybrid. Perhaps the only one of his kind, he's still trying to unlearn the promise-&-contract-based morality they have. Naven taking him under his wing has helped immensely.

(Ideas & suggestions are appreciated. Thanks again to @ramblings-from-the-ether for getting this ball rolling. Credit to @epitheterasedgen for popularizing "Everyone Adopts Molly" in the EE fandom.) Edit: I forgot to tag for spoilers. Sorry for everyone who has been spoiled.

[formulalfc]

💐new ramble game💐

for the game, you can pick a driver/football player that you really like from the list provided

and

you can pick a love language again from the list provided.

then drop it in my inbox and i'll write a little ramble about how i think that person and that love language would go together🫶🫶

footballers: alisson becker, joe gomez, virgil van dijk, ibrahima konate, kostas tsimikas, andy robertson, trent alexander arnold, curtis jones, dominik szoboszlai, ryan gravenberch, cody gakpo, darwin nunez, jude bellingham, christian pulisic, marcus rashford, levi colwill, ben chilwell, deli ali, jadon sancho, mason mount, kylian mbappe, neymar jr, kai havertz, joao felix, pablo gavi, pedri gonzalez, frenkie de jong, gio reyna, jobe bellingham

formula one: lewis hamilton, george russell, max verstappen, charles leclerc, carlos sainz jr, lando norris, oscar piastri, daniel ricciardo, lance stroll, alex albon, logan sargeant, yuki tsuoda, esteban ocon, pierre gasly, zhou guyanu, mick schumacher, sebastian vettel, jenson button, arthur leclerc

love languages: words of affirmation, physical touch, gift giving, quality time, acts of service

Inbox is open <3

[whumping-valentine]

@augusnippets Day 2: Haircare + Makeup 

Content: Sibling dynamics, extremely dramatic femboy drama prince, well-meaning yet disapproving family, moth racism yes moth racism also a bit of accidental infantalization.

Characters used: Valentina, Giovanni, and Arianna

I talk a lot about Val's sister, Ludovica, in the upcoming story I'll be doing here, but I never really talk about the other two. So let's do something quick with Gio and Ari. Well, mostly Giovanni. Beware, he is the most dramatic character ever. I have a love-hate relationship with him lol

Also if you think the dialogue is weird it's supposed to be like that. The royal heirfi just talk like this. Also I think I should say that these characters are royals as well as lesser gods, and an "heirfix" is a butterfly-like (or moth-like) creature that I came up with. I'll have art of these guys soon so you can see what they look like. There's a crap ton of lore but that's for the actual story to tackle.

~~~

“OH, SWEET SAVIOR OF LIGHT.” Giovanni cursed from his exasperated stress. “This is the worst thing to ever happen! Nothing has ever been or ever will be a travesty such as this!”

Arianna pinched the bridge of her nose, “Gio… it is not that large of a problem.”

Giovanni gasped in horror, “What kind of sister are you?! What am I supposed to do without it?! It is missing! Missing, Arianna! It is missing and I shall never be graced by the beauty of it for the rest of time itself! What is a royal without their crown?! I AM THE GOD OF BEAUTY!! WHAT AM I WITHOUT THE BEAUTY?!”

"Okay..." Arianna questioned how to approach the situation, "I understand that you are the god of beauty, and as such, want to be beautiful. However, it is important to find a balance in life, is it not? As the god of music, I do not cry when one of my instruments gets damaged, nor do I think of myself as lesser if my voice is not up to standard some days."

"You do not understand!"

"I understand perfectly. You see, Giovanni, what you need to do is learn to let go. It is okay to not always be up to what is expected of you, and you most certainly will not be taken any less seriously if anyone sees you without your crown. It is not the lavish gold which sits on our brow that makes us special, it is merely a cosmetic."

"Again, you do not understand! Cosmetics are my entire thing!"

A meek knock came from the door. Their sister, Valentina, entered, “Hey, um, Gio, did you misplace your crown?” She asked, presenting it up to him.

Giovanni squealed in delight, "OH MY SWEET LITTLE SISTER, YOU HAVE SAVED MY LIFE!"

"I- I am older than you..."

Giovanni ignored her, rushing to a vanity mirror to admire his restored reflection, fanning his tears with two of his arms. "Oh, Valentina, what is it that I can do to repay you?"

"Oh, well, I have just found it sitting around. It was not any trouble at all, there is no need to repay the deed."

"Nonsense!" He said, "You have mentioned early this day that you have plans, no? Let me doll you up! Who better than the god of beauty?"

"Oh, no, it is quite alright. Rosa is not one to care much for looks."

"Oh, yes, the moth."

"Yeah, my fiancée?"

“Yes, that. DARLING! Let me help you.” He said moving the subject along, “At least one of my sisters cares enough to help me!”

"Yes, yes, I can see when my advice is not wanted." Arianna said. "Have fun with him, he is your problem now." She said to Valentina, exiting the room while giving her a pat on the head like she was a child.

Valentina let her brother ramble and talk while he did her makeup. It was something he did often for their many family members. He was the organizer, the decorator, and the one with an eye for details. Though that fact is probably due to his incredible eyesight. Every god gets a power, and his was his amazing eye.

"Annnnnnd, done!" He said, and handed Valentina a heart-shaped mirror to see.

"It looks great, Giovanni."

"Of course it does, I am an expert." He said, and directed her to sit elsewhere so he could tackle her hair.

While Giovanni combed through her long hair, she stared down at the red and white checkerboard floors. She fidgeted with the ring on her finger, and kicked her tiny legs. She felt so stuck.

She had known Rosa since they were kids, and now they were engaged, yet she knew not one of her family members approved. Rosa was a moth heirfix, and the only one who had ever lived with the butterflies. Valentina loved her family, but she also loved Rosa. And her mother was the one who invented marriage! They probably think she's some kind of disgrace... and that's not even mentioning how everyone clearly still views her as a kid despite how much they insist otherwise. It isn't her fault she hasn't metamorphosed yet...

She shook the thoughts from her head. After this she will go and see Rosa, and it will all be okay. She smiled as she thought of her, closing her eyes as the brushed breezed through her hair.

Everything will be alright.

●●●

●●●

Narrator: Everything was not, in fact, alright.