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moonbeamsung · 4 years ago

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I Fell for You Like the Autumn Leaves

In which your neighbor, who might as well be a complete stranger to you, convinces you to revisit an old childhood tradition of yours. Oh, and you end up falling in love with him.

member: chenle (featuring the dreamies and taeyong)

au: pumpkin patch volunteer!chenle x gn!reader

word count: 11.3k

genre: fluff, angst, humor

warnings: mutual pining, very mild profanity, kissing, teasing

author’s note: I know, I know, the au is oddly specific but just trust me! :) And I’m crossing my fingers that the tags work this time. I have nothing else to say except that I’m very proud of this fic and it was very fun to write, so I hope you enjoy it. Hope everyone who celebrates had a nice Halloween!

The tall, slender lamp post on the sidewalk outside of your house glows a pale amber color under the gray evening sky, illuminating the leaf-littered ground beneath it. You’ve walked past it hundreds, maybe even thousands of times, on a day just like this one. But this time, something’s different.

There’s a small flyer taped somewhat haphazardly to the side of the post, the dark lavender paper catching your eye. It’s positioned perfectly at eye-level, and you begin to read.

Fall is finally here, and you know what that means: The town’s annual pumpkin patch and festival is now open! Pick out your perfect pumpkin, find your way through a corn maze, take a peaceful hayride, and more! Come visit us all throughout the autumn season, 7 days a week from 10am to 8pm, at the corner of Chestnut Way and Fairview Boulevard. There’s fun for the whole family!

Small illustrations of pumpkins and colorful leaves fill the margins of the flyer, and the festive palette seems to brighten up the gloominess of the October day surrounding you.

“Hey!”

Whirling around, you’re met with the sight of your neighbor, Chenle. He’s holding more of the flyers in one hand, a small roll of tape in the other.

Despite him living only a few houses down from you for a number of years, you hardly know anything about him. You suppose he’s always seemed sort of mysterious. Sometimes you would catch glimpses of him outside from your window, and no matter if you saw him snapping photos of the blossoming flower bushes in his yard, riding his bike down the street with some friends, or just sitting on his upstairs balcony with a book in his hand, none of these things gave you any clues as to what he’s really like.

You two have exchanged brief hellos whenever you’ve passed each other on the sidewalk, him on his way somewhere and you heading home, but aside from those fleeting encounters, he’s a puzzle for you to figure out. You can’t help but wonder about him. Is he a quiet or a loud person? Is he on the serious side, or does he laugh at almost anything? What’s his personality like in general? Long story short, Chenle intrigues you, and maybe after today you’ll know at least a little bit more about him.

“Hi,” you return his greeting with a small smile, the kind of smile you give when you’re not exactly sure what else to say.

“Those flyers look pretty good, huh? I helped design them this year!” He explains with a proud grin, placing a hand on his hip as he studies your response. To be fair, he hardly knows anything about you either, and upon seeing you inspecting the flyer, he had decided to approach you and hopefully take a small step towards becoming your friend.

“Really? That’s cool.” The awkwardness in the air between you is far too tangible for your liking, and you silently hope he’ll take the responsibility of carrying on the conversation you’re currently sharing. Luckily, this wish of yours is granted moments later.

“You’ve been to the pumpkin festival before, right?”

You nod. It’s true, the annual tradition is one that everyone in town can enjoy, but in recent years you’ve started to lose interest in the festivities. You’re growing up, and it’s like you’re at this weird in-between stage. Mostly, those that attend are either large families complete with young children eager to explore every corner of the patch, or couples hoping to enjoy the ambience created by the cute decorations and cozy autumn atmosphere. You belong to neither of these groups, and so you’ve felt more than a little out of place the last few times you’ve gone.

You’re not sure if this is something you should share with Chenle, but without waiting for any kind of approval from your brain, the words leave your mouth anyway.

“Yeah, but I don’t really have anyone to go with and I don’t know anyone working there, so I’m not sure if I’ll make it this year.”

He frowns sympathetically for a split second before his face lights up again. “Aw, but I was just about to tell you that I’m volunteering there this year! So... if you’re worried about not having someone to hang out with, you’ll have me.”

“Only if you want!” He quickly adds, and that’s the first time he’s seemed nervous, or at least anything less than completely confident during your conversation. The cutest shade of red appears on his cheeks, and you don’t know how you could possibly refuse his offer now.

“Hmm... I guess I can reconsider, then.” You smile wider, more genuinely this time, after faking your contemplation by tapping your toe and tilting your head, a finger stroking your chin as if in deep thought.

“Really?” He replies happily with a small gasp, and his foot starts to lift off of the pavement to take an excited step towards you before he stops himself. If you notice, you don’t say anything.

You nod once again, and he notes how enthusiastic you seem now. Cute.

“Great! My shifts are on weekdays, from 2 to 7. I’ll see you there?”

“Definitely.”

The next week, you bundle up in your warmest jacket before making your way down the sidewalk, turning when necessary as you navigate the winding streets of your neighborhood. About half a dozen blocks later, you’re out on the main road, and you can just barely spot the entrance to the festival in the distance, orange lights strung along an archway that marks the small trail leading to it.

When you finally reach the inside of the pumpkin patch, the first thing you do is look for Chenle. You regret not asking him exactly where he would be working, but it can’t be that hard to find him, right?

He’s been on edge all afternoon, wondering if you would actually show up. It’s not that he didn’t believe you when you told him you would be there, he most certainly did, but there’s an oddly anxious feeling in his stomach that’s been affecting his behavior and he’s not sure he wants you to see him like this.

Chenle, just like everyone else, can be clumsy sometimes. But today? Today was a whole different story. He nearly dropped one of the biggest pumpkins in the patch while he was trying to lift it from the tall haystack it had been sitting on. His shoelace had somehow become untied while he was walking through the corn maze to check for any candy-apple wrappers or cider cups on the ground. Fortunately enough for him, no one had been around to see him trip over it, saving him at least a little bit of embarrassment. He even accidentally left the door to one of the animal stalls open, earning him a light scolding from his supervisor, Taeyong, and an entire hour on feeding duty for the horse it belonged to, between its scheduled hayride shifts.

It wouldn’t be a good second impression, he decides, if you were here to spend time with him only to see him completely failing at doing his job instead.

So when he spots you not too far away, craning your neck as you search for him among the large crowd, he’s conflicted. Does he face his fear of messing up in front of you and possibly risk your only recently-formed opinion of him, or does he avoid you the whole night? His heart clenches at that last option, and in a spur-of-the-moment decision his legs begin to carry him over to you. Catching your eye, he smiles despite the uncharacteristic lack of confidence in himself that he’s currently feeling.

You’re hurriedly cutting across the sea of people that fills the walkways to meet him, and when you’re within an arm’s reach you start to lift your hand in a small wave. Before you can stop walking completely, however, he takes your raised hand in his own, briskly guiding you off to the side to stand out of the way of the massive group of festival-goers. Just as quickly as he took your hand he releases it again, gently letting it drop to hang by your side.

You only just had your first proper conversation with him a matter of days ago, and he’s your neighbor for goodness’ sake. So why in the world did your heart rate seem to speed up just then?

There’s a small bench nearby, and he motions to it with a nudge of his shoulder. Sitting down next to him, you try your best to ignore the confusing signals that your body’s sending you right now.

“You came!”

“Of course I did,” you reply with a laugh. “It’s nice to have someone to enjoy the festival with for a change. I’ve really missed that.”

“What do you mean?”

You explain to him how it had grown out of being a family tradition, and that your friends always seemed to be busy, leaving you on your own year after year.

“Well... you have me now!” His voice is cheerful, reassuring, and despite all the noise and activity surrounding you at the current moment, it makes you feel at peace.

“Wait.” You glance around, then look back to Chenle. “Shouldn’t you be working, though?”

“...Shoot!” He knew he was forgetting something.

Standing up from the bench you share, he continues. “You can come with me if you want, but I can’t promise that any part of my job will be interesting.”

“It’s okay,” you giggle, standing up as well and following him over to a small covered tent. The inside is packed with people, weaving in and out of aisles created by several wooden tables full of small, colorful gourds. The boy behind the cash register shouts his name, beckoning him over with his hand.

“Hey Chenle, can you come help me weigh these pumpkins? Donghyuck had to go help some kids at the crafts area and business isn’t slowing down anytime soon.” He’s too busy typing numbers into a small computer system to notice that he’s speaking to more than one person. When his eyes finally lift up from the keys, he asks, “Who’s this?”

Chenle introduces you to each other, and you learn that his name is Mark. The gray beanie he’s wearing is somewhat lopsided on his head, dark hair sticking out from beneath it after all the times he’s cutely scratched the back of his neck.

While Mark and Chenle ring up dozens of customers, you entertain yourself by browsing through the wide variety of miniature pumpkins and squashes, some green, some white, some yellow. You occasionally pick up an oddly shaped one, running a finger over the small bumps or darkened bruises on the surface of the fruit.

When you look over at the register again, the line has died down, and after a moment of consideration your eyes land on a vibrant orange pumpkin that looks like it would fit perfectly in the palm of your hand. Picking it up, you smile a little to yourself as you turn, pulling your wallet out from your pocket and patiently waiting behind the 4 groups in line ahead of you.

By the time you finally step up to the checkout counter, Chenle’s been wondering where you went. He hadn’t seen you when he was gifted with the rare chance to look up from the metal scale he’s been constantly working at for almost an hour now. Maybe you got bored, he thinks, and left to go do something else or to just go home altogether. So when he sees the familiar sleeve of your jacket enter his peripheral vision as you place your tiny pumpkin down in front of him, he looks up faster than he thought humanly possible, in both surprise and relief. “You know you don’t have to buy anything,” he attempts to whisper in the hopes of hiding his words from Mark.

“But I want to. This pumpkin’s really cute,” you insist with a pleading look in your eyes.

Like you, he nearly mutters. That would have been a disaster.

“Do you want me to pay for it?” He offers, almost pouting at this point.

“Such a gentleman,” you tease, “But no. I promise, I’ve got it.”

“If you insist,” he responds, matching the sarcastic tone of your words and hoping to distract from his reddening ears. Chenle weighs the pumpkin and then places it into a small bag that you sling over your shoulder, where it will stay for the remainder of the day.

Unbeknownst to both of you, Mark’s eyebrow raises at the playfulness of your conversation. Maybe you don’t notice the furious blush on Chenle’s face, but he certainly does. And he won’t forget it.

“Hey, uh, guys? Donghyuck just texted me that he needs a hand. Do you think you could go meet up with him and help out a little?”

“Are you sure you can handle things here, Mark?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. But Donghyuck won’t be if those kids are deprived of craft supplies for much longer.” He reaches underneath the counter and pulls out a huge stack of plastic sticker sheets, with small images of bats, candy, and everything in between. “Take these.”

“Thanks, Mark! See you later!”

“It was nice to meet you!” You call out over your shoulder, and as you momentarily focus your attention on the boy behind you that’s getting farther away by the second, you’re too caught up in saying your goodbyes to notice that the one beside you grabs your hand again. Chenle gently pulls you away from the counter and out from under the tent, steadily making your way towards the other side of the large pumpkin patch.

You were lucky that Mark had the decency to at least pretend there was nothing going on between you and Chenle. He had refrained from commenting on it in front of you, and simply chuckled to himself when he saw both of you walk off together, hand-in-hand. He finds it amusing that neither one of you seems to notice the mutual fondness the other so obviously has for you. Mark doesn’t know a lot about you, but he knows you must be pretty special to be able to fluster Chenle like that.

Donghyuck, on the other hand, does not possess the same decency.

When you reach the crafts area, which is a small, designated space with several picnic tables and bins full of art supplies like glitter, paint sets, and markers, he gratefully approaches Chenle and accepts the large bundle of stickers from him. Like he’s feeding a hungry mob of seagulls with just a few breadcrumbs, Donghyuck essentially tosses them to the large group of children eagerly jumping at his feet. Scurrying away as they snatch the plastic sheets out of the air and get back to decorating their pumpkins, his eyes land on you for the first time.

With a smug, knowing smirk and an exaggerated nod of his head towards your tightly intertwined fingers, he asks, “Who’s this, Chenle?”

You know those movie scenes where two characters look at each other, at something else, then back at each other again? That’s exactly what happens. Chenle’s and your eyes meet, surprise evident on every feature of your faces, before you both realize the exact same thing at the same time. With shaky pupils, your gazes drift down to each other’s arm, then to your hands, laced together and acting as a source of warmth on this chilly autumn day. Much faster this time, you make eye contact again before rapidly but unwillingly pulling your hands away. The guilty smiles you send Donghyuck’s way say it all.

Chenle introduces you for the second time today as his neighbor, but deep down you both wish it was as something else, something more.

“I see,” Donghyuck says under his breath, in a huff of poorly concealed laughter.

Only Chenle hears him, though, and Donghyuck earns himself a rough shove to the shoulder with the snarky comment. You’re looking in a different direction, vision focused on a small child with a frown on her face as she struggles to embellish the small orange gourd on the table in front of her.

“Chenle?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m gonna go see if I can help that little girl with her pumpkin.” You point a finger in the general direction of the picnic table she’s sitting at, glancing back at him for a second as you make your way over to her.

She’s close to tears now, and crouching down beside her small form, you ask, “What’s wrong, sweetie?”

The girl looks down at you, rushing to wipe her eyes before explaining in a quiet, shaky voice, “None of these stickers are the shape I want for my pumpkin...”

Oh, you realize, she’s trying to make a jack-o-lantern face.

“Um...” Upon looking around, you spot a piece of paper nearby on the table and hand her a purple marker from one of the art supply containers. “Well, can you draw what you want the face to look like and maybe I can help?”

With a small “Mhm,” she takes the marker from you and begins to sketch four odd-looking but not totally unfeasible shapes for the pumpkin’s eyes, nose, and mouth.

A good distance away, Chenle is growing tired of Donghyuck’s endless interrogations about you and if he’s absolutely positively sure that you’re not something more than just neighbors. He wordlessly excuses himself from Donghyuck’s side to join you by the picnic table.

The drawings that the little girl comes up with look like a deformed mix of squares, circles, and triangles. Thankfully, you have access to stickers shaped like all three, and you get an idea.

“What are we working on over here?”

Looking up to see Chenle kneeling down opposite you, resting an arm on the wooden surface of the bench, you notice that his voice is different. Not in terms of its pitch or volume, but just in the way that he’s speaking. It’s even more gentle than usual, filled with concern and care, all because he’s talking to a child. How endearing, you think to yourself, smiling down at the ground for a moment or two before you remember the task at hand.

“They’re helping me with my jack-o-lantern!” The little girl exclaims excitedly, causing Chenle to grin wider than you’d ever seen so far and allowing you to get a glimpse of his adorable eye smile for the very first and certainly not the last time.

Nope. Your heart did not just flutter. At least, that’s what you’ll keep telling yourself.

With a wave of your hand you motion for him to stand up, you doing the same before whispering your plan into his ear. Exchanging nods, you both crouch back down again and set to work, guiding the little girl as she overlaps the stickers on the pumpkin to match the picture she drew.

When you’re finished, she claps her hands together and thanks you multiple times, her genuine gratitude warming both of your hearts more than a blanket or a heater ever could.

“Wait,” you turn back around just as you’re about to walk over to Donghyuck once again. Flipping through the sticker sheets scattered across the table, you find exactly the one you’re looking for and peel it from the plastic.

“Wha—”

Before Chenle can even begin his sentence, you’re already pressing the small acorn sticker onto his cheek, giggling softly at how a blush seems to blossom from underneath it, the adorable pink hue spreading all the way to the tip of his nose. Your thumb applies the slightest amount of pressure to his skin while the remaining fingers hold the side of his face, and your other hand clutches his shoulder over the burgundy sweater he’s wearing. It’s at this moment that it dawns on you: This is definitely not a “neighborly” exchange.

You jump back in shock at your own actions. “Oh my god, I’m sorry, I really don’t know why I did that.” Inwardly releasing a string of profuse curses, you awkwardly step closer a second time, lifting your hand again to try to peel it from his face and just wishing this mortifying moment would be over already.

“It’s okay, you can leave it,” he stutters a little, taking a tiny step backwards. “I don’t mind.”

Not really knowing how else to bring the uncomfortable (well, that’s an understatement) conversation to a close, you let his last words hang in the air, casting daunting shadows over your heads as you both repeat the same thought over and over again in your minds like a mantra.

I shouldn’t like them...

Trying and failing to sneak a slight glance at the other, your gazes meet at the same time, both of you looking away just as quickly once you realize you’ve been caught red-handed. Or in this case, red-faced.

...But I do.

A few minutes prior, another festival volunteer had taken over Mark’s job at the cash register, leaving him free to roam around for at least a little while. Not knowing where else to go, he had come to see Donghyuck, and by default, you and Chenle.

As they watch your rather amusing response to the realization of and sudden embarrassment at such a shameless display of your crush on Chenle that you can’t quite bring yourself to accept just yet, Mark and Donghyuck talk lowly amongst themselves.

“He should just ask them out already. I haven’t even known that they exist for 15 minutes and I’m already sick of seeing them both deny their feelings for each other. It’s so painfully obvious!” Donghyuck makes a gagging noise, earning a glare from Mark.

“It’s kind of cute, though. Like puppy love.”

“Whatever you say, Romeo,” he snickers.

“Hey!” Mark shoves his shoulder, annoyed. Donghyuck just laughs.

Pulling out his phone, the younger boy types up a quick text message before hitting the small arrow to send it. Out of the corner of his eye, Mark sees the delivered blue speech bubble appear on the screen and asks him, “Who’s that to?”

“Jeno. He and Jaemin have got to see this.”

Not even a minute later, Chenle’s own phone dings with a message from the former of the aforementioned boys, providing a distraction from and successfully dispelling some of the tension that continues to weigh down on you both.

Once he finishes reading the text, Chenle looks up at you and explains, “Two of my friends are working concessions and they’re almost out of a few things, so I need to go pick up what they need and bring it to them.”

You frown a little and furrow your eyebrows. “Isn’t it weird that everyone’s been asking you to go from place to place bringing them stuff all day?”

Now that he thinks about it, you’re right. But there’s no time to stand around and wonder why there seems to be a pattern with his tasks today.

“Bye Donghyuck! We’re gonna go help Jaemin and Jeno at the concessions stand!”

Was it too much to ask for Chenle to absentmindedly grab your hand again? Apparently yes, because much to your disappointment he refrains from doing so this time.

“Did you seriously ask Jeno to make up a fake excuse for help just so you could get them to leave?” Mark questions him, a clearly unamused expression on his face.

“First of all, no. He actually told me that they’re running low on candy apples. And second, not only that, but also so they can see just how hopelessly they’re crushing on each other.”

“Meaning that they can tease them about it, too, right?”

“Exactly!”

Mark rolls his eyes. He supposes he shouldn’t even be surprised at this point. Donghyuck is always full of mischief.

You remain by Chenle’s side as he leads you towards a storage area for the festival and over to the kitchen section, where he grabs a medium-sized cooler packed with freshly candied apples. The walk is filled with casual conversation, any awkward encounters earlier in the day becoming long forgotten, or at least temporarily put out of your minds.

Not having any of his friends around to tease you helps, too.

The few minutes you have to yourselves come to an end all too soon, and as you approach a large booth that appears to be full of just about every autumn snack imaginable, you catch the eye of one of the two boys standing behind it. Whether it’s Jeno or Jaemin, you’re not sure. But sure enough, like everyone else you’ve met so far today, his gaze becomes one of surprise and interest upon seeing the way you’re walking so close to the tall boy at your side.

You decide to take the liberty of introducing yourself this time instead of leaving Chenle to do it for you. Reaching an arm out in front of you, you shyly step up to the conveniently empty counter of the stand. The first boy shakes your hand while the other turns around, eyes darting from you to Chenle multiple times.

“I’m Jaemin,” he lets go of your hand, but not before shooting you a wink and a ridiculously charming grin. Chenle’s stomach churns with jealousy. The boy is always like this, Chenle knows, but with you it’s different. Normally it’s just the regular flirtatious remark directed at a passing customer, making them nearly spill their popcorn or choke on their cotton candy. Despite his awareness of the fact that he means no harm, Chenle still has to fight the urge to pull you into him protectively. Jaemin picks up on his sudden envy but chooses not to mess with him further.

The second one speaks up, doing the same as Jaemin without the wink, instead displaying an endearing eye-smile of his own. “I’m Jeno.” His eyes light up when they land on the freezing container Chenle’s carrying. “Are those the candy apples?” He exclaims. “Thank you so much!”

“No problem,” Chenle grunts in response as he hands it to Jeno over the counter, still bitter about Jaemin’s coquettish introduction of himself. Picking up on his annoyed tone, you send a confused glance and then a sympathetic smile the boy’s way as you try to subtly calm whatever frustration that remains within him.

He softens immediately, regretting any worry he may have just caused you with his uncharacteristically cold demeanor. It’s immediately forgotten when Jaemin motions for the both of you to round the corner of the booth. Stepping inside from the back, you instantly realize it’s much too cramped to fit four people.

You’re about to excuse yourselves to go stand outside again when Jeno strides past, just a little too close for comfort. Taking a step back to move completely out of his way, you make a fatal miscalculation: Chenle’s right behind you. With a thud your back crashes into his stomach, and the awkwardness is more than just palpable.

Throughout the next few minutes you look for every opportunity to step away from him and escape the mutual discomfort of your current position, but business at the concessions stand picks up and both of the boys are constantly rushing back and forth, leaving you no room to do so. It’s not a physical discomfort, not in the slightest, but more so one where your self-consciousness is heightened, and you’re aware that it looks like something a couple would do, the way a couple would stand. In any other moment, perhaps a more private one, you might not have minded the proximity so much, but the public setting you’re in creates the need that you feel to visibly reject the non-existent distance between you and him.

Chenle could get used to how perfectly you two seem to fit together in what’s almost a back hug, with the way he could oh so easily wrap his arms around you from behind. Just not here, not now. Would it be too much, he thinks, for him to place a gentle hand on your shoulder as you both wait for the chance to separate from each other? He decides the answer is no, and as you both endure constant gusts of air each time Jaemin and Jeno pass you, Chenle holds you, grip light on the space between your arm and neck that’s covered in the cotton material of your jacket. His touch eases your nerves about the situation, for which you’re beyond thankful.

While you wait, your eyes find themselves lingering on the customers that shuffle through the line, some young, some old, tall or short. The scrumptious scents wafting within the booth begin to overwhelm your noses after some time, the pungent aroma of apples and spiced cinnamon becoming almost too much to bear for your sense of smell.

As expected, by the time you actually notice there’s finally enough space for you to step away from each other, you’ve already gotten comfortable where you are. The delayed response to this makes Jeno chuckle under his breath, handing a final box of pumpkin pie to an older couple over the counter of the concessions stand.

Glancing down at his watch, Chenle notes how much time has flown by since you arrived at the festival. He also realizes it’s nearly time for his shift at the horse stables, uttering a quick explanation to you and then the other two boys in the booth.

Exchanging brief farewells, you follow Chenle outside and down a thin path to a more secluded area of the festival grounds, out by the field where hayrides are given. On the way, you pass by the corn maze and the games area. The boys manning the attractions both look as if they’re part of the same group of volunteers that Chenle has introduced you to so far, if you had to guess.

Your assumption is confirmed when he waves at the first one, who’s standing beside a small group of children playing bean bag toss. Scanning the area for any supervisors that could scold him for running off for a minute, he darts over to the two of you.

It’s refreshing that he doesn’t inspect you from head to toe with his gaze, something that had happened to you far too much today. “I’m Chenle’s neighbor,” you start before telling him your name, feeling optimistic that he won’t bug you about your connection to each other very much.

“I’m Jisung,” he responds. Then, “Chenle never brings people to the festival like this. Are you dating or something?”

Never mind.

You inwardly facepalm at his blunt statement. Chenle actually does, the smack against his forehead sounding almost painful.

“We have to get going now, Jisung. I just wanted to introduce you to each other.” Despite being frustrated with the younger’s directness, Chenle still gives him a quick side hug and a “Bye” as you walk away, presumably to stop by the corn maze briefly as you had just done with the games area.

“They never answered my question,” Jisung mumbles to himself.

“Renjun!” Chenle calls, hoping this encounter will go more smoothly than the last. Surprisingly enough, it does. The boy extends a hand out for you to shake with a kind smile, not asking any questions about your relationship with Chenle. You’re extremely grateful that he accepts your status as his neighbor and nothing more.

Only when you’re turned away, gazing into the distance at the hustle and bustle of the event does he pat Chenle firmly on the back, exaggerating a wink and whispering a “Go get ‘em, tiger” into his ear. Chenle scowls at Renjun, groaning about being teased the entire day just for bringing someone to the festival with him.

“Alright, alright, I’ll leave you alone.” Renjun starts to back off, but he simply can’t help himself. The next words that spill from his lips will be the last, he vows in his mind. At least, for now.

“...You like them, though, don’t you?”

“Mmph,” Chenle reluctantly replies after a moment, offering a noncommittal answer.

“Don’t overlook it, okay? You never know. They might feel the same way,” he gives Chenle’s arm a quick squeeze before sending him over to you. The light tap he plants on your shoulder makes you turn around with a smile, expectantly gazing up at him. “Ready to go?”

“Yep,” he nods towards the stables, and you both wave back at Renjun as you make your way over to the large structure.

An unfamiliar man leans against one of the walls once you get there. When he sees Chenle, he straightens up and runs a hand through his brown hair, a slight smile tugging at his lips.

The man steps aside from his spot on the wall to reveal a shelf full of animal care items, from cleaning supplies to heavy bags of feed and dry bundles of straw for the ground inside the stalls. “You know what to do,” he nods at the boy while eyeing you carefully at the same time.

Chenle manages to read his mind surprisingly fast, and he jumps to defend your presence. “They’re with me,” he clarifies.

“But you know the rules, Chenle.”

“Just this once, Taeyong! Pleeease?”

Unable to resist the puppy-like expression on his face, Chenle’s supervisor finally caves. That, combined with the way your face fell when he threatened to send you away in a nonverbal manner is enough to make Taeyong change his mind. A minuscule inkling inside of his brain tells him that you’re okay to be by Chenle’s side as he does his job, even if it might mean that he’ll get distracted at times.

“I suppose they can stay.”

“Yes! Thanks, Taeyong!”

“Wait a minute, what’s that on your face?”

Chenle brings a hand up because he’s genuinely forgotten, but when his fingertips brush the cheap plastic sticker on his cheek he remembers how it got there. “Oh, it’s... uh.” He looks to you for help.

“I did that,” you explain with an embarrassed laugh. “We were joking around and I stuck it on his face.”

“Oh, okay, just making sure you know it’s there.”

Some friends he has, Chenle gripes internally. They didn’t even bother to point it out. What if it had been something else?

Luckily, he doesn’t mind the cute sticker, even if it does make him blush like a fool when he thinks about your cute hands pressing it onto his skin.

As Taeyong passes him on his way out of the stable doors, he pinches one of his rounded cheeks, leaving the younger boy cringing in the process.

Time passes somewhat slowly as you watch Chenle go about doing his tasks, first taking one small handful of the horse’s food at a time and feeding it to her, steadily depleting her evening meal little by little. Then he grabs a broom and steps into the stall to sweep some of her bedding.

“What’s her name?” You ask him after a while, the simplicity of his actions creating a calming effect on you as you observe them. You only know it’s a female because you had heard him mutter “Good girl” to the horse rather affectionately a few minutes earlier.

“Nutmeg.”

“That’s cute,” you reply.

The silence feels heavy, begging you to face what you’ve both left unsaid throughout the day. It’s the first time you’ve really been alone together since you got here. But you’re both too scared to bring up the countless assumptions made by his friends over and over again during the time you’ve spent together that you’re dating, fearing that the conversation, supposed to be a joking one, would inevitably progress into something much deeper.

“I’ve had fun today.”

He says it out of nowhere, making both your body and your heart jump a little.

“Me too.” He peeks his head out from the stall to smile at you, your response tinging the tips of his ears red.

A few minutes go by as you fall into a light dialogue, talking about anything and everything you can think of, getting to know each other more. As he’s finishing up, you finally stand from where you’ve been seated for the past 45 minutes, walking leisurely over to the shelf of supplies, which just so happens to be next to the stall door.

All of a sudden Nutmeg hears something that spooks her, and you don’t realize that she starts to charge towards the closed pair of wooden panels you’re currently right beside.

It’s an instant in which Chenle’s clumsiness from earlier in the day threatens to come back in a much more severe form if he doesn’t do something. Senses more alert than yours for whatever reason, he takes action without hesitation, and time seems to slow before his eyes as he does so.

Swiftly moving you out of the way of the split stall door less than a second before it swings open from the force of the horse’s strong neck, Chenle pulls you to him. His arms dart out to catch you tightly by the waist while he turns both of your bodies around, ensuring that he’s the one closest to the enclosure. His reasoning? If he doesn’t take you out of harm’s way fast enough, at least he’ll be the one that feels the impact, not you.

As you’re being held flush against his chest, your mind races to process just how you got into this position. But your heart presses pause on the gears of your brain, and allows you to just enjoy the close intimacy of the moment.

Chenle knows he should do something, say something, but all he can think of is to stay just like this. Your head is turned to the side, an ear pressed to his sternum and in the perfect spot to hear his heartbeat. Its not-so-steady thump matches your own, sounding much like the uneven rhythm that a young child might play on a drum set, striking the instrument with force and conviction and unwavering confidence.

If only you could confront your feelings for him in the same way.

Both thanking him and apologizing profusely for your lack of awareness, you move to take a tiny step back and away from the snug hold of his arms. Only, you find that you can’t. Chenle’s still holding your waist, oblivious to the fact that he’s been clutching you closely for the past thirty seconds in preparation for a moment that lasted less than one.

“You... you can let go of me now, Chenle,” you say apprehensively, a half smile on your lips as you attempt to look him in the eye without being overwhelmed by the urge to kiss him right then and there.

“Ah, right. My bad.”

Chenle’s not usually this bold when it comes to the physicality of a relationship, romantic or not. But he can’t help it that there seems to be an invisible gravitational force surrounding you, just begging for him to reach out and lay a tender hand on the small of your back. Compelling him to tangle your fingers together like a mess of yarn, with the ends fraying and coming undone but at the same time holding each other up, keeping each other from falling apart. Giving one another something to hold on to in the most unlikely of situations.

With only a few minutes left to spare in his shift, he tells you to wait outside while he packs all of the supplies up for the night. Once everything is back in its proper place, Chenle is just about to step outside through the swinging wooden doors of the stables when a small noise from the caramel-colored horse stops him in his tracks. Turning around, he carefully approaches the animal with an outstretched arm, stroking her shiny mane once he’s close enough.

“What am I going to do, Nutmeg?” The conversation is a futile one, he knows, but it proves to be therapeutic for his conscience. She nuzzles his hand with her snout as he leans onto the wall, lost in thought.

“Should I tell them how I feel?” Her large dark eyes peer back at him, and as silly as it sounds, Chenle gets the sense that she actually understands, despite her inability to respond with comprehensible words.

“I’ll do it, then. Not tonight, but soon. Before autumn ends,” he vows, making a promise to himself and his heart all at once.

Nutmeg lets out a small whinny as if to express her approval. Smiling at the animal’s nonverbal reassurance, he opens the door to step out into the chilly fall night, strides a little lighter and head held higher than usual.

As the small clock tower set up in the middle of the festival grounds tolls seven times, loud clangs disrupting the low and indistinct chatter of the evening, you and Chenle return to the same bench you sat on that afternoon, eyes heavy and feet tired by now.

“Your shift is over now, right?”

“Yeah,” he affirms. “Ready to go home?”

“Definitely.”

The festival has mostly cleared out, which is surprising for the time of night that it currently is. The lack of all the hustle and bustle around you makes it significantly easier to navigate the paths extending in nearly every direction across the grounds.

On your way to the exit of the festival, the same autumn-themed archway you ducked under several hours ago, you pass a few of the boys you met during the day, offering a small wave goodbye to them.

The roads are quiet as you and Chenle walk next to each other on the paved sidewalk, the streetlights placed at every small intersection between the tightly-knit suburban roads providing the only source of illumination. With no one around to hear his shaky voice, he turns to you and stutters out, “I know I didn’t ask for your permission to do this earlier, but may I hold your hand?”

You let him, but not without a bashful scratch to the back of your neck and a mumbled answer of “Sure” directed his way.

Like two schoolchildren with the biggest and most obvious crushes on each other, there’s a skip in both of your steps as you walk the rest of the way home. Insisting on staying outside of your house until he sees the light in your bedroom window turn on, Chenle bids you a sweet goodnight with a lingering hug and a small kiss to the top of your head that he mistakenly thinks you don’t notice.

That night you fall asleep with a smile on your face, visions of pumpkins dancing through your mind and the small one that you bought resting on your nightstand beside you.

It’s the first thing you see when you wake up the next morning, and you reach out to take the small item in your palm. You’re convinced that you can still feel the warmth of Chenle’s hands cradling it as he placed it on the scale, recording the measurement before he gave the miniature pumpkin to Mark, who told you how much it cost. You were so eager to accept the small tote bag Chenle was extending out to you that you didn’t even bother asking for your change back, shoving the money into Mark’s hand and insisting that he keep it.

Your eyes land on the same bag, sitting in the corner of your room, and it makes your face break out into a bright grin. Not even bothered by how early you’ve woken up, you bound down the stairs for breakfast, the most excited for the day ahead you can ever remember being.

You spend the next couple of weeks visiting Chenle during his shifts at the festival, sometimes staying late enough for him to walk you home like he did that first day. With each time he sees you, he warms up to your presence, becoming more like his usual witty and hardly-ever-flustered self. Oddly enough you start to act less and less like a couple, which doesn’t go unnoticed by his friends. The incessant blushing is gradually replaced by sarcastic banter with one another. You don’t know anyone who makes you laugh like Chenle does.

“Hey,” he pipes up one afternoon as you’re watching him organize some pumpkins. “What if I dyed my hair this color?” Chenle points to one that’s a particularly vivid shade of orange, raising his eyebrows as you think of a reply.

“Then you’d look like a pumpkin,” you hum in response.

He chuckles. “Is that supposed to be a bad thing?“

You shake your head. “Not necessarily. Are you really going to dye it, though?”

“Probably not.”

“As you wish, pumpkin.”

He whirls around, nearly dropping the stack of gourds in his hands. “What did you just say?”

“You heard me... pumpkin,” you smirk after repeating the new nickname, and it puts an impossibly cute pout on his face.

“Don’t call me that!”

You jokingly ruffle his hair, and Chenle’s small smile betrays his annoyed facade as he realizes he could get used to hearing the word roll off your tongue, not to mention you addressing him with it.

It’s the week of Halloween when the six boys that volunteer with Chenle at the festival meet up to create a plan that will, ideally, end with both of you confessing your feelings. All but one of them, which happens to be Mark, excitedly discuss possible ways to set you two up. Should they send you on a private hayride somehow? Or maybe they could get you to try out the corn maze together, and hopefully you would struggle with finding your way out long enough to express your mutual crushes on each other.

“I don’t know about this, guys. I still think we should just let them figure it out on their own.”

“You’re no fun, Mark,” Donghyuck chastises. The eldest shrugs, an expression of resignation on his face. At least he tried.

Finally, they decide on having both of you move between each of their respective areas or booths around the festival, dropping as many hints to you about the other’s infatuation as possible. First you’ll start the evening off by navigating through the corn maze, which they realize is impossible for you to get lost in since Chenle had to memorize the map of it. So much for their earlier plan.

After that, Renjun will usher you off towards Jisung’s station, the game area. Conveniently, he’ll suggest you play the balloon dart toss together, but there’s going to be a catch: one of you has to carry the other in their arms while they throw them. They laugh a little at how flustered they imagine you’ll get.

Next, Mark and Donghyuck will help you pick out the best pumpkin to carve for the upcoming holiday. You’ll start to pick it up, but Chenle will insist on holding it instead. If you had heard this, you would be fuming. Who says you’re not strong enough to carry a pumpkin on your own? You’ll show them.

To end the night, Jaemin and Jeno will “accidentally” only give you one stick of cotton candy, forcing you to share. By that time, they hope you’ll be perceptive enough to finally see that the attraction is mutual, diminishing the fear of rejection in both of your minds.

Not so surprisingly, nothing would go as planned.

The boys put their little scheme into action on the night of October 30th. Chenle is actually finished with his days of volunteering at this point, and even though he could stay home after working many long hours over the past few weeks, he opts to visit the festival as a guest this evening, with you by his side.

He picks you up outside of your house, waiting on the sidewalk right next to the same lamp post that the flyer for the festival was taped to, also known as the entire reason why you’re in this situation in the first place. If you hadn’t taken the time to read those words on the purple-colored page, you honestly don’t know where you’d be right now.

Dressed in your favorite and coziest autumn outfit, you practically fly down the stairs of your front porch to greet him. Like you’ve gotten used to doing by now, he holds your hand in his as you walk, taking the same route you always do.

Chenle’s heart beats a little faster when he sees your eyes light up at the sight of the festival in the distance. For the first time, you’ll both be able to enjoy the event together without being bombarded by constant requests to help with various tasks throughout the night. Or so you thought.

From the moment you step foot inside the grounds, Jisung is already standing at the entrance and hurriedly directing you to the corn maze. Confused but obedient nonetheless, you both head towards where his finger is pointing.

Chenle knows something is up as soon as he sees a familiar mischievous twinkle in Renjun’s dark eyes. “You go ahead, I’ll catch up,” he tells you.

“Chenle, it’s a maze. I don’t think they work like that.” He ignores your playful sarcasm.

Speaking in the quietest voice he can muster, which is quite a feat for him, Chenle leans in close to whisper harshly in the older boy’s ear. “What are you trying to pull?”

At a volume level that’s loud enough for you to hear, Renjun replies, “The others and I thought it would be fun to plan out your evening a little! So first we want you to start here, at the corn maze.”

“Aw, really? That sounds like fun!” Oblivious to the group’s true motives, you endorse their plan with your words. “Better get started,” Renjun winks. As you turn to make your way in between the tall rows of vegetables, he roughly yanks Chenle backward to quietly say, “There isn’t a more perfect time to confess to them, I mean, a romantic autumn night at the festival? Make a move already,” he encourages.

Glowering back at him, Chenle reluctantly follows you into the maze.

Only 15 minutes later you emerge from the corn stalks, the boys’ scheme momentarily forgotten. It quickly comes to mind again when you find Jisung waiting outside for you for the second time that night. One time too many, in Chenle’s opinion.

Not missing a beat, the younger of the two boys leads you both over to the area he’s assigned to. The wall of colorful balloons catches your attention immediately. “Let’s play this one!” You exclaim as you tug on his sleeve like a little kid. Delighted with your choice, Jisung quickly explains the rules, but the twist he adds to them goes right over your head. In fact, you’re the one that offers to carry Chenle first. Neither of your faces turn pink with embarrassed blushes.

You don’t even bat an eyelash as you carry the pumpkin that you picked out together in your arms, much to Donghyuck’s dismay. Mark just stands to the side, amused at their attempts to artificially force confessions out of you. The singular stick of cotton candy that Jaemin hands to you over the counter of the concessions stand fails to phase either of you whatsoever, and you end up just pinching off small pieces from the sticky sweet dessert with your hands. Jeno points out your simple solution to the boy standing next to him, observing their failure. “Why didn’t we think of that?” He mumbles.

The six boys finally gather together when they collectively realize they didn’t succeed, but actually did just the opposite. Making a small circle, they start to argue and pointlessly blame one another for causing everything to go wrong. You only manage to catch a few words of their heated conversation, but something in your gut tells you that they were up to more than just creating a schedule of activities for you to follow.

Exchanging glances, you and Chenle nod at each other, about to try and quietly slip away from them. Hand in hand, you take careful steps backwards, but before you can dash away Mark catches sight of you. Thankfully, he smiles a little and puts a finger to his lips, making a “shh” sign as he waves his hand in a signal for you to hurry up.

Abandoning all of your cares, you give up on going unnoticed by the group and shamelessly scamper off in the opposite direction.

“Wait, I know that place!” You shout excitedly as you pass a small playground meant for the younger visitors to the festival. “Can we go over there?” You plead with him, but you suppose you shouldn’t call it that since he gives in to your request so easily.

The child-sized vehicle standing in the center of the play area is a familiar sight to you, and Chenle knows what you’re about to ask him before you even open your mouth. “Go ahead,” he says with a loving smile on his face as he motions to the carriage, designed to look like the very object that the entire festival itself centers around. Catching up to you, Chenle steps forward a little so that he reaches the small stairs leading up to it first.

“Your highness,” Chenle bows, crossing one foot behind the other and bending a knee. Opening the creaky door to the pumpkin carriage for you, he gestures to the inside of the oversized fruit, the graceful movement ushering you to climb inside. You bashfully tug on your striped scarf, holding the woolen material up against your cheeks as you laugh at his chivalrous display. It tickles a little, and he thinks you look even more adorable bundled up like that.

The interior is much smaller than you remember. But then again, you had been much smaller the last time you sat in this very seat.

Calling the inside of the carriage cramped is an understatement. There are two narrow benches on either side of it, the space on the floor between them barely enough to fit the legs of one occupant, much less two. Chenle struggles but eventually sits down across from you, unintentionally forcing your knees to rest in between his. The small windows on the squeaky, rusty doors do little to let in any light whatsoever. In the darkness, you can’t see the boy’s face flush at your closeness.

‘What now?’ You think to yourself, wondering if you’re brave enough in this moment to finally tell him how you feel, how much you enjoy his company, how special he’s become to you. And though you don’t know it, across from you Chenle is contemplating doing the same. He beats you to it with his next actions.

Your racing train of thought skids to an abrupt halt when you feel his hand on the lower part of your thigh, touch innocent and timid as it lingers on the soft fabric of your corduroy pants.

Eyes hurriedly adjusting to the dim space surrounding you, you feel his fingers grasp your own before you see them. At last you make eye contact with each other, gazes boring into one another and recognizing the same things, the same feelings in them. Chenle’s clutching your hand in his now, the first still resting comfortably on your thigh, and you feel the dull sensation of his legs bending inward, squeezing your knees together. His mouth opens, rounded lips parting as though to ask the question that you both already know the answer to. You bring an arm up to hold him by the shoulder, the movement in itself confirming that this is what you want as well. That he’s what you want.

Careful not to bump your heads against the low ceiling of the carriage, he leans towards you, closing the already minimal distance between your faces as he meets your lips in a kiss.

Heads tilting and eyelashes fluttering shut at the same instant, you both pour every unspoken thought, every secret glance, every loving word that never made it past your lips into the contact they currently share. The moment itself feels long overdue, like something you could have done on that first day you spent at the festival together.

It means more this way, though. The amount of time it took for this to happen gave you more time to discover and get comfortable with the way you feel about Chenle. To get comfortable with him. His presence, his humor, his personality, his touch, everything about him is something you’ve grown to depend on over these past few weeks.

Even your lips begin to depend on Chenle as they fall into place against his own, moving with a fervor you weren’t even aware you possessed.

There’s a quiet rhythm to the osculation of your lips, an airy sigh or breath from one of you breaking the silence every few seconds. In the midst of the indescribably wonderful sensation that is the kiss you’re sharing, you faintly feel his hand start to move up and down your leg, not in a provocative way but a reassuring one. His loving caresses have you leaning further into him even though there’s barely enough room to do so, making you wish for one reason and one reason alone that you were having this kiss somewhere else. Otherwise, the location is perfect.

More than a decade has passed since you were just a young child, begrudgingly posing for a photo for your parents by poking your head out through the same small window of the carriage. Since then, the orange of the paint has dulled, the once-soft carpet on the floor has become coarse from the countless shoes that have trodden over it. The wooden doors are splintered and, though never functional, the carriage’s large wheels have undoubtedly begun to show their age with the amount of dirt and dust caught in the grooves.

You’ve made many memories in this place, but the one you’re making today is sure to be unforgettable.

Chenle would give anything to be able to hold you right now, to maybe bring you onto his lap in a tender embrace as he shows you just how fast and how hard he’s fallen for you. Not that volunteering at the festival was a bad thing at all, but you made it so much more bearable, so much more fun. The thought of spending another perfect day with you was more than enough to get him out of bed every morning.

He compromises for the restrictions that the enclosed space places on your movements by untangling his fingers from yours, choosing to cup your cheek with them instead. You’re a little disappointed when his hand lifts from its place on your thigh, anxiousness bubbling up in your gut as you anticipate where he’s going to place it next.

It’s safe to say you just about melt when you feel his palm come up to delicately cradle one side of your chin, thumb darting out to glide along the skin that’s just below your bottom lip. Arching into him, you make the most of the little room you have left to pull him closer.

It’s then that your lungs finally catch up to both of you, sending simultaneous signals telling you to breathe. Granted, Chenle’s kisses feel like all the oxygen you’ll ever need anyway.

Reluctantly leaning away, your chests heave with muted but sharp gasps. A pang of worry hits you when he doesn’t smile, doesn’t laugh, doesn’t say anything. His mouth has fallen open, eyes wide with just as much anticipation as you feel. Taking what feels like the biggest breath in your life, you pray your voice doesn’t tremble as you speak for the first time since you clambered into the dark, cozy carriage.

“I really like you, Chenle.”

The relief that washes over you when he responds is unlike any you’ve ever felt before.

“I like you, too.”

But he’s not done.

“...A lot, in case you hadn’t noticed.” The extra detail makes you giggle, smiling shyly at anything that isn’t him.

He goes to lean in again when you stop him. “Wait, wait, can we at least get out of here first? I want to do this properly.”

You scoot sideways after he nods in agreement, far enough for him to open the door and step down from the elevated imitation of a pumpkin. He extends a hand up to you once he’s on solid ground again, and you take it. His face breaks into that signature bubbly grin of his that’s more contagious than you’d like to admit.

Joining him on the grassy surface, you dramatically stretch your arms out in front of you, waiting for him to reciprocate the hug you’re implicitly requesting.

The impish twinkle in his eye you know so well appears with his next words. “Can I pick you up?”

“You’ll drop me!” You retort, scoffing.

“Aw, c’mon! No I won’t,” he pouts. “Don’t you trust me?”

“Do I?”

“Yes, you do.”

Strong arms envelop your form as he lifts you into the air, only to pull you tightly against his torso. Not even the world’s fluffiest blanket can compare to the fleecy warm softness of the plaid shirt and sweater vest he’s wearing.

The enamored smile on Chenle’s face is the kind that would have made you weak in the knees if you were standing. Forgetting that you’re no longer shielded from the world by the carriage’s privacy, he presses your foreheads together and cutely nuzzles your nose with his own.

Framing his sharp jawline with both of your hands, you lean in to share a second kiss with the boy you wish you had gotten to know sooner. It’s no use wondering about what could have been, however, so for now you decide to focus on only this moment, only these lips, only Chenle. The way he smiles into the kiss has you reeling with affection.

Not even the distant cheers that just barely reach your eardrums can tear you away from each other.

When you feel as though the kiss has conveyed all you want and need to say to one another, Chenle begins to mumble against your lips. In a voice low enough for only you to hear, he says, “We’re going to have to face them sooner or later, you know.”

“How about never?” You reply, grumbling.

“Just follow my lead, okay? I’m used to their teasing,” he comforts.

“If you say so...”

Breaking out of the kiss-induced daze, you both look over to where the six boys stand, clapping and pumping their fists in the air in celebration with one another.

One of them, probably Renjun, you can’t quite tell, cups his hands around his mouth in preparation for the shout that leaves it not even a second later.

“It’s about damn time!”

“I told you guys if we just left them alone they’d figure it out themselves!” Mark adds triumphantly.

Apparently more than one kiss is one too many for his friends to see, and enough to make the small group turn away, yelling for you to “get a room” at the top of their lungs. You feel Chenle smirk against your lips at their repulsed reactions.

“Serves them right.”

You agree.

You’ve never had someone to spend Halloween night with before, and boy does this stress Chenle out to no end. He wants everything to be perfect, wants to do everything that a couple should do on such a holiday. “It’s really not a big deal, Chenle,” you insist sympathetically as he paces your living room floor, currently obsessing over what costumes you should wear.

“But... it’s you, and you’re a big deal. A big deal to me. I just want to make you happy.”

“Nothing could make me happier than being able to call you mine,” you proclaim proudly, enjoying the way his face practically turns into a tomato when what you’ve just said registers in his brain. “Stop it,” he stutters, lowering his head to stare at the carpet under his feet. You just giggle.

The excitement of the night is unlike any other. Your neighborhood’s streets are full of mostly children, but some adults and grandparents too, all taking part in the festivities. Going from doorstep to doorstep, you chant the famous three-word phrase at each house, assuring anyone who answers the door that you’re never too old to trick or treat if they ask. You get lots of compliments on your matching costumes: Chenle’s dressed as Sully and you’re Mike Wazowski from Monsters Inc. The soft fur on his outfit makes it extremely difficult for you to hold yourself back from hugging him any chance you get.

With your bags full of enough candy to last you two months at least, you return home for the night, this time crashing at his place. Despite the fact that it’s already getting late, both of you quickly change into some more comfortable clothes before settling in on his couch for a Halloween movie marathon.

“How about...” Chenle scrolls through the large selection of films on the screen. “The Nightmare Before Christmas?”

“No!” You cry out abruptly, lightly pounding against his chest with one of your fists before returning it to its original position around his waist.

Looking down at you, currently curled up in his lap with your other arm thrown rather lazily over his sturdy shoulders and your side pressing into his torso, he asks, “Why not?”

In a small voice, you respond. “It... gave me nightmares when I was little.”

“Really? A Disney movie?”

“Yes, now can we please stop talking about it and pick something else?”

“Aw, are you scared?”

“Shut up!” You whine shyly, burying your face as far as it would go into the thin fabric of his loose white t-shirt.

“Hey,” he hushes you, “I’m not making fun of you, baby. It’s okay... I’ve got you.”

Chenle swears he feels the warmth of your blush against his shoulder, generated by his unusual use of that particular term of endearment.

He runs a reassuring palm along one of your arms down to your hand. Effortlessly he winds each of his fingers around yours, like piecing together the most delicate of puzzles, and you remember how this action would have flustered both of you beyond belief mere weeks before. It’s become so simple, so instinctive a movement, saying everything you need to know without even the slightest whisper of a word in the air.

Rubbing small circles into the skin on the back of your neck with his other hand, he holds you close, the harsh light from the television illuminating your form as it clings to his.

You eventually decide on an actual horror movie that leaves you muffling your shrieks with a pillow, but Chenle just laughs with a pitch so high that it reminds you of a certain marine mammal. You scold him by giving his shoulder a whack. “Shh, Chenle! You’re going to wake the whole neighborhood up!”

“Hey, you were screaming too!”

“That’s not screaming, that’s called laughing, you dummy.”

Hours later, Chenle’s arm hangs limply down into the large bowl of treats you’ve been sharing. The soft snores next to your ear tell you that he’s fallen asleep. His family finds you two knocked out cold the next morning, covered in fuzzy blankets and colorful candy wrappers strewn about the sofa.

Indeed, this would be a Halloween to remember, and you hope to spend many more together in the future. With Chenle in your arms right now, there’s no place in this world that you would rather be. And it’s all thanks to a flimsy piece of paper on a lamp post.

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bladekindeyewear · 4 years ago

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HS^2 bloggin’ mainline 2020-08-06

♪ HS2 HS2 is baaaaack ♪

♪ HS2bloggin here we gooooo ♪

♪ Structural changes on their team but I don’t caaaaare ♪

♪ Already resooolved myself that its NOOOT gonna beee as good ♪ with inattentiveness to details characters like Terezi forgetting-what-they-used-to-know and an obsession with dwelling on traaageeeDEEE without relief-or-considering how weee’d feeeeeeel~ ♪♪♪ --so just gonna enjoy-what-i-caaaaaan about iiit~ ♪♪♪

Okay time for bankruptcy

> CHAPTER 11. History's Most Notorious Haters

Let’s see how effectively my perky new lowered-expectations attitude lets me enjoy this comic *click*

wut

Oh. so is this Dave drawing comics about current events or Regular Calliope doing so for our very first lanky look at her presumably-grown-up-more cherub form

> Knight: Keep it real.

HOLY SHIT IT’S DAVEBOT AND ARADIA

so we just get to SEE them?! just like that??? no buildup or anything? :D

Okay I’m marking out a little that’s a good sign. Also what a nerdy cop-out to turn the roboteyes into glasses that’s barely passable which is perfect, the rest of his outfit looks pretty cool tho

DAVEBOT: and thats reason four hundred nineteen why despite my mans many accomplishments i will never acknowledge big skateboardings contrived message that tony hawk is the quintessential skater of our generation ARADIA: o_o DAVEBOT: not in these trying times

Good to see Ultimate Dave is being true to form with regards to the core of his personality

DAVEBOT: beep boop ARADIA: i have told you several times that i was a robot before and i know for a fact you dont have to say beep boop DAVEBOT: hm that sounds fake does not compute ARADIA: david DAVEBOT: mom

I was with this conversation until the last two lines what the fuck

(I’m reading into it aren’t I, Aradia was trying to be atypically proper -- even though she wouldn’t have the frame of reference to know without being specifically told that “Dave” was considered nickname shorthand for the human name David, and thus if she DID know there’s no reason she’d use it except to troll him -- and Dave’s just mocking her response. Without any shame about his continued weirdness of calling people Mom, and by without any shame I mean he made the choice EXPLICITLY to intentionally evoke the awkwardness. Wow I got a lot out of two lines.)

(Oh, also alt!Callie’s true Jade-body incarnation here probably prompted her to start using “David” by example. There, various mysteries solved via a pile of assumptions probably to be disproven in the next couple lines I read.)

The Knight and the Maid stare at each other briefly, having exchanged enough meaningful glances over their time together to know when to drop it.

Would Time players have an easier time gelling this way, like this particular smoothness? Dropping it just before it gets weird or excessively irritating?

(Overclasspecting)

ARADIA: i think we have exchanged enough meaningful glances over our time together to know when to drop this DAVEBOT: what i enjoy about our conversations is that you just say things like that

OKAY I SNRK’D AT THAT. That was funny.

Initially. And now I’m concerned whether Aradia is being controlled by the narrative-speak, or whether they’re both just humorously referencing the meta-text they can both see, or--

ARADIA: oh is that what you enjoy ARADIA: well we are both an infinite number of years old living countless lifetimes at once but thats no reason to waste any of our...

WHAT??!? She’s an Ultimate Self too?!?

Um, okay! Yeah! So they’re BOTH just riffing on the narrative then. But... why would Dave need a robot body to accommodate his Ultimate Psyche without getting sick but Rose not need it? I can understand Dirk not needing it because the merging of the full breadth of his multiversal individuality gels well with him being a God of the aspect governing the power of his multiversal individuality, but Aradia?

Were the robot bodies not necessary after all, and the sickness Rose suffered and Obama thought Dave would have suffered some sort of ruse? Are there shenanigans afoot? (Or are we going with the “troll biology is better” cop-out?)

She knows how this will play out, having undoubtedly tried this joke on her friend in some timeline or another. Their rapport reflects a unique combination of their matching aspects but greatly differing classes. One a passive but powerful servant to time, the other wielding the aspect like a honed blade.

WHAT????

PASSIVE SERVANT OF THE ASPECT?!? WHAT THE FUCK

Okay if that means anything like it sounds like I guess my class chart is finally blown up, sure, they only waited (*checks last edit date*) SEVEN AND A HALF YEARS TO BLOW THAT GUESS UP, SURE

Wow. Okay, I feel some obligation to jump to conclusions and say the whole class chart is wrong, but let me stay strapped in to see if “passive” is as literal as one would expect alt!Callie to mean, or it just means “an active class passive compared to other classes”. And, serving the aspect? Oh dammit, now people are gonna come at me advocating a Maid / Page dichotomy about actively serving the aspect versus allowing the aspect to be served... or Page / Maid even, jesus

I wish I had enough energy to have those chats anymore. I’d rather hold on and see the whole ridiculous chart scheme they have in mind... which is definitely (and hopefully) the one Andrew really drew up at the time and not made up by the staff, even if it throws away plenty of my old work... I’ll just stop thinking about it and keep reading.

...

--no, I don’t think I can just stop thinking about it yet. Dammit, brain.

So um. Maids serving their aspect. There was a whole “Maids serve” thing going on throughout the whole plot of Homestuck, but despite how prevalent it was, I wrote it off as the story riffing on the classical definition of Maid when the actual stuff Maids accomplished was something different and more specific, just like Knights constantly got riffed on for chivalry and the like. Furthermore, service seemed like a really shitty class definition, when class definitions are the verbs one uses to interact with reality through Aspects to change the way reality unfolds, and “serving” isn’t really an action that results in change, implying a distinct deficit of agency that I wouldn’t have viewed as fair. (Especially since you originally think “meant to serve others” and not “meant to serve the aspect”, implying even LESS agency.) Furthermore, MOST passive classes from their descriptions seem to have a propensity to act “as if by the will of the aspect”, so even with the nuance of “serving the aspect”, devoting an entire class verb to service would just step on the territory of other active/passive class pairs’ passive sides, right?

But... IF we were to take this for granted as what it SEEMS... then concentrating on that angle of “serving the aspect” implies a whole lot more agency than a service class might sound on its surface. The definition fits with the story better once you contextualize all the Maid-y references to service around Jane, for instance, with the additional idea of “serving Life” by baking prolifically and creating more of its symbols in food and--

--fuck. “Serving”, like serving to others. Serving the aspect as its attendant AND serving it out to others that need it. Maybe this still IS part of the Additive class pair! Whoa. :O

Okay okay so, what I/we thought before was:

Create/Add - Maid / Sylph

Destroy/Reduce - Prince / Bard

But “additive” really isn’t an elegant verb compared to the “Destroyer” classes, so... could it be the “Servants” and the “Destroyers”? Like Maids cleaning up and healing the broken wreckage strewn through the halls by a bratty Prince’s tantrum???

It’d certainly be weird... and it’d CERTAINLY be a wild twist where I was partially wrong in some fascinating ways but not entirely off base?

One a passive but powerful servant to time, the other wielding the aspect like a honed blade.

And yet, I can’t bet on this being the situation yet; not at all. First, it relies on the idea that alt!Callie’s explicit narrative here is slightly misleading, which would be a pretty extreme thing to commit to, even for a technical truth like “she was saying it was passive relative to other classes even though it’s technically “active””. Second... it would mean that Muses are even more wildly defined than the previous insinuation of hers, that the Sylph -- what we thought was the passive additive class -- was not enough like a Muse compared to a Witch. Muses not being that Additive? I could grudgingly understand that, but Muses not being anything like passive Servants?! That would be EXTREMELY weird!

So... there’s not a whole lot of chance that I’m not dramatically wrong somewhere about these classes! In a way that throws the entire chart into disarray!

I’m... oddly excited? Huh.

That’s a pretty nice surprise that I actually feel that way.

(Don’t hit me up all at once to discuss this Classpect development over Discord, I’ll still need a few days without talking about Homestuck to recharge as usual. Like... maybe wait and come at me as a group chat? So I’m not talking about the latest developments separately with everyone? No that wouldn’t work, how about... guh I dunno, look my outlook’s a little more positive right now but dealing with Homestuck still takes emotional energy okay?)

Okay the rest of this page...

ARADIA: ... DAVEBOT: time then make a weird face ARADIA: ........ DAVEBOT: waste time DAVEBOT: time ARADIA:............. DAVEBOT: i experience all points of time simultaneously please just say time and make a weird face

This is true.

ARADIA: .................. DAVEBOT: cmon megido youre killing me clocks ticking ARADIA: ... ARADIA: time o_o

The Maid casts a furtive glance around the empty crew quarters, as though to search for someone more sympathetic to her bit.

ARADIA: tough crowd

Dorks.

> ==>

(Lazy fruit-throwing sword-training I won’t bother to screenshot but looks fun)

(I mean, really lazy looking, these people really don’t have Andrew’s knack for action composition that would make the same amount of gif-creation effort feel like a microcosm of the event they’re depicting, unfortunately. Again, I don’t blame them; Andrew was just too good at it.)

DAVEBOT: ok heres one DAVEBOT: how old do you think you are ARADIA: emotionally? ARADIA: that is a pretty heavy topic DAVEBOT: you know damn well thats not what i meant ARADIA: you know I have been through a lot dave DAVEBOT: ok ARADIA: its just so kind of someone DAVEBOT: ok i get it ARADIA: to finally ask how i feel ARADIA: i am beside myself with emotions ARADIA: i want to open up DAVEBOT: jesus christ ARADIA: shall i open up about my past traumas to you ARADIA: would you enjoy that ARADIA: to think even a frog like me can work through their pain with a dear friend ARADIA: you have truly blessed me on this day dave strider

Is Aradia JUST trolling here or is her Ultimate Self grappling with a ton of real unresolved trauma too that she’s bullshitting around Dave-style?

DAVEBOT: times fun when youre having flies

Okay that’s a damned good frog pun.

Alright now Davebot’s rapping

DAVEBOT: lacking tact i stay stacked while i breach contract DAVEBOT: sacred vows disavowed got divorce fever DAVEBOT: i leave her DAVEBOT: dont look back dont perceive her ARADIA: do you want to talk about it :( DAVEBOT: about what ARADIA: would you say you are hung up on leaving your wife and friends behind

Goddamnit is DAVE’S ton of real unresolved trauma leaking into his raps unintentionally Dave-style?? I knew we had to address it when we cut to Davebot but how about LESS TRAGEDY IN THIS COMIC MAYBE

DAVEBOT: arent you even a little guilty about ditching your boyfriend ARADIA: what ARADIA: oh fuck

But she knew what she was doing when she did it she explicitly did it didn’t she? Epilogues quote:

DAVEBOT: what about your boy DAVEBOT: eyepatches ARADIA: oh sollux is in one of his moods ARADIA: this was all getting to be a bit much for him ARADIA: if i go ill probably just cut him loose DAVEBOT: good move

And then they stepped through the sky hole more or less. Did like, distracted Ultimate Aradia not realize exactly how long she was leaving Sollux for, ie forever? Or did she “ascend” to Ultimate status later and hadn’t thought back to the full consequences of her actions within this timeline? Or both? From the looks of the link we’ll probably find out on the next pa--

--Wait. Something else I just thought of, unrelated.

If Aradia is an Ultimate Self, that’s another coincidentally Ultimate version of someone hanging around that happens to be on the prospective list of Soul-Powered Jujus that might have their creation loops closed in the coming story. Could those two things play into each other somehow? Like instead of their souls getting stuffed into the items, their “Ultimateness” is? Or as if that’s a necessary component, or... no, I’m probably overthinking things.

> (Months in the past, but not many...)

Uh huh. Is that flashing because he’s “watching” Aradia leave? But I thought Aradia SAID she was leaving--

> (==>)

--and that black hole portal doesn’t look as cool as it sounded in the Epilogues. But why was Aradia acting surprised, she said “I’ll probably just cut him loose” mere MOMENTS before entering the portal, did she mean “cut him loose” as in “I’m going to talk to him before leaving” and then just IMMEDIATELY forget that she didn’t say anything to him because she cared so little???

Wait. Waaaait wait wait. I think. I think maybe I missed some subtext. Lemme do some fuller quotes here:

ARADIA: oh sollux is in one of his moods ARADIA: this was all getting to be a bit much for him ARADIA: if i go ill probably just cut him loose DAVEBOT: good move

His gaze remains fixed on her. She blinks and looks away, unsure what to say next. He’s standing perfectly still, presumably waiting for her to say something. She met him... what was it? Once, twice before? She can’t remember. But she knows this is a very different Dave. Aside from the metal skin, he seems implacably confident. But then, people go through changes. She’s been through more than her share. She cocks an eyebrow, recalling her own stint with a metal body.

DAVEBOT: hey earth to whats your face ARADIA: oh ARADIA: its aradia

[...]

DAVEBOT: youre coming DAVEBOT: better decide quick i doubt that dank fuckin hell funnel is staying open for much longer ARADIA: yes i suppose so ARADIA: thats where all the action is right? DAVEBOT: all the action that matters yeah ARADIA: off we go then :) DAVEBOT: word

He holds out his hand. She looks around, and assumes he means for her to take it, so she does. She didn’t know someone could fly this fast. He nearly yanks her arm out of its socket. She considers reminding him that maybe this isn’t necessary, since she can fly too. But she doesn’t want to risk saying more embarrassing stuff around this outrageously cool dude. Besides, they’re through the wormhole before she can even finish the thought. It vanishes the moment they’ve crossed.

...this was a SHIPPING thing wasn’t it. She’s impressed as hell with Striderbot, she SAID she’d cut things off with Sollux, and then she was so busy being swooped off her feet and into the portal that she forgot to actually say anything to him. Is that what happened????

Ultimate Self Davebot x Ultimate Self Aradia. Huh. Didn’t see that coming. (Though, again... they could make it SLIGHTLY clearer that this wasn’t just a blatant continuity error.)

Anyway, a rare-don’t-get-used-to-it [S] page...

> [S] (Gaze.)

...Okay that was kinda funny.

> (==>)

SOLLUX: h0w the fuck am i g0ing t0 get d0wn fr0m here.

HAH! Okay, he’s taking it pretty well. :) --and THAT’s what she realized she forgot, giving him a flight down from the tower before leaving.

GOOD. KEEP THINGS HUMOROUS EVEN WHEN LITERAL ABANDONMENT IS HAPPENING. THAT’S the Homestuck I was missing. :) :) :)

> Back to reality.

(Since the black hole is outside “canon” reality.)

Those are some cool poses-AHAH JESUS CHRIST ALT!JADE YOU LOOK ABSOLUTELY TERRIFYING XD

COULD YOU MAYBE HAVE CLEANED UP THE DRIED BLOOD AT SOME POINT OR IS SOME OF THAT FRESH FROM EATING MORE RAW MEAT

(Lord English’s blood leaving permanent timeless bloodstains would be a cool new thing to squeeze into canon i admit, i wouldn’t blame them for taking the excuse even if you could find small canon counterexamples I’m not sure of but dimly think might exist)

((ALSO SHE’S GONNA BE TINY NEXT TO THEM I DUNNO IF THAT MAKES IT MORE TERRIFYING OR LESS, PROBABLY MORE))

DAVEBOT: so youre telling me you dont even feel a little bad that you ditched him to be a weird death acolyte ARADIA: no i think he found my wiles both charming and irresistible DAVEBOT: not even an ounce of guilt or self doubt huh DAVEBOT: just like that DAVEBOT: no conversations about the greater good DAVEBOT: no revelations about your feelings

Is Aradia a jerk or weird? Can’t decide.

ARADIA: do you often find your faith in yourself shaken like this or is it a new experience now that your mortal coil has been left behind DAVEBOT: what ARADIA: do you think now that all that is left of you is a literal ghost inside of a machine you are more or less likely to embrace finality DAVEBOT: oh dope more cult of one shit DAVEBOT: immortality changed you ARADIA: could it be that you are projecting your feelings onto my situation DAVEBOT: does not compute rose jr ARADIA: ... ARADIA: we dont have to talk about it DAVEBOT: thanks

Wow, I actually can’t follow this conversation at all. Let me stare at it for a sec...

...okay, the first part she’s talking about DAVE’s faith in HIMself being shaken, not her own. She’s not asking if he relates to HER experience, she’s contrasting it.

Then, asking if he’d be more likely to embrace death, or... Time? Death. Whether his self-worth has changed because he might view himself as “less real”, something Aradia doubtless struggled with when she was a robot who already had so many excuses to devalue herself at the time? And then Dave talks about “cult of one” shit what does that even mean-...

OH. Like she’s a death cult. Gooot it. Because Aradia’s of the position that death and ending should be celebrated, and Davebot understandably isn’t entirely bought in. This is as hard to parse down as one would EXPECT conversations between two Ultimate Selves to be hard to parse down, unlike Rose and Dirk where their insane missions and glaring flaws shine bright enough through it all that you can follow their conversation flow easily.

JADE: They sit in each other's presence, the silence between them as meaningful as any words they could exchange. DAVEBOT: its always really cool to hear how meaningful my silences are DAVEBOT: especially while DAVEBOT: CALCULATING DAVEBOT: CALCULATING DAVEBOT: especially while i am attempting to experience them

Alt!Callie pulling a narrative-text AFTER a talk-identifier like “JADE:” is really hilarious in my opinion.

JADE: i do not need your approval. the story will continue how it must. DAVEBOT: beep boop hater detected ARADIA: wow is that true JADE: i am not a hater. DAVEBOT: classic hater line DAVEBOT: i know this because i am pouring through genuine actual quadrabytes of information on historys most notorious haters JADE: no, you aren’t.

Pffffff. This is pretty fun.

DAVEBOT: you are the exact opposite of a hater ARADIA: a liker DAVEBOT: ok DAVEBOT: perfect example your tolerance for whatever is going on with DAVEBOT: all this ARADIA: i think she looks quite lovely covered in the viscera of the all-powerful enemy she consumed ARADIA: floating lifelessly in our periphery ARADIA: observing our every action and noting its relevance :) DAVEBOT: uh huh thats what i mean

I was gonna note “liker” as additive for pointless classpect purposes, but really more quoting it just because I really enjoy this conversation. I’m starting to get sold on the chemistry of these two a lot faster than I expected.

JADE: even though I understand that it must happen, i am growing frustrated with the direction of this conversation. DAVEBOT: do you want to talk about something else stinky JADE: what would you suggest?

How long has that dried fucking blood been on her

DAVEBOT: ok hear me out DAVEBOT: kanaya DAVEBOT: but like DAVEBOT: wearing huge jorts

That explains Homestuck’s twitter earlier

> Weeks in the future, relative to the original point of interest...

Wait wait which point of interest? This time we were just viewing? *click*

I love what must be this shitty imagination-ship they’re using to cross the substrate of reality

> ==>

Whoaaaa. So they DIDN’T stay in those outfits for long? It showed them in a bunk bed earlier, it showed CallieJade still going around blood-covered afterward-- dammit, I’m having a hard time gauging exactly how much time is supposed to have passed between their entry into the black portal, their earlier conversation, and this moment. And as likely as some are to call this poor scene composition, I can’t think it’s anything but intentional, given we’re dealing with a couple of Ultimate Time players bullshitting with each other.

Moments like these are not rare, and serve a valuable function to the story. They are able to show a passage of time with the bulk of the emotional labor of a lengthy bonding process happening off screen. How did we get here? What have they been through? These questions are often better left open to individual interpretation and can give the one interpreting a sense of ownership of the story.

See? We’re being trolled is why. (Even if the authors are pulling the trick Alt!Callie describes maybe a little too damn often, because a cut like this where we’re supposed to fill in the emotional gaps and intervening events ourselves as readers depends on readers’ faith that sensible events and decisions for these characters would OCCUPY the gaps, as if readers don’t have faith that what intervenes WOULD make sense to their understanding of the characters the way the authors are writing them... it just seems like an excuse to do whatever you want without adequately explaining yourself, when in reality if you’d spelled out the events that led to it we’d all cry foul at the mischaracterization.)

...okay, maybe I’m a BIT bitter. Sorry. Where were we?

JADE: As a point of curiosity- ARADIA: oh shit!!!!

The dead Cherub possessing the body of an equally deceased Goddess of Space pauses at the interruption.

She doesn’t talk much, then? Too busy doing whatever talking you’d do as your other possessed Jade body? Just how temporally related is you controlling THIS Jade compared to when you were controlling the other? When that Jade pegged you as enjoying contact with friends, are these two just not enough for you, or did you “experience” the trips entirely separately? I don’t THINK the alt!Callie possessing either Jade is a separate entity from the other, but...

Were she to voice her opinion, it would be that --actually-- it is not unusual for those whose primary concern is The Grander Scheme to have a passing curiosity about the insignificant. So when one really thinks about it, any annoyance with the attendant’s small mindedness is both understandable and warranted.

She pissed

...also, “the attendant”. Even if “serve” is really the verb here, that phrasing really irks me as if she’s talking down to her. Which, I mean, makes sense for alt!Callie’s character, but doesn’t make me feel better about this new definition being foisted on us.

ARADIA: :( JADE: as a point of order, you never answered dave’s question. ARADIA: which one he is very chatty JADE: you experience time in a way that is woefully unfamiliar to me and it has... piqued my curiosity enough to learn more. ARADIA: ?_? DAVEBOT: shes asking how old you are

Wait a minute, is Alt!Callie asking a question about a dropped topic from WEEKS ago?! And is Davebot so in touch with Time and the meta ordering of topics that he actually CAUGHT ON that fast to what she was actually wondering about?????

This is getting more disorienting by the minute.

ARADIA: in this form our bodies stop aging once we reach maturity i think ARADIA: the god tier keeps our physical form locked in a state of undying ARADIA: even in death the bodies do not decay ARADIA: only lay dormant

THAT LAST PART IS FUCKING IMPORTANT. It’s being brought up intentionally to tell us that JOHN’S DEAD BODY can still be in the wallet Terezi’s carrying around RIGHT NOW without having decayed over the past years. I remember remarking in SOME previous HS^2 liveblog post of mine that I was alarmed by the decay that would have happened there (can’t find my remark on short notice and don’t really care to), so this explicitly dismisses it so we won’t be surprised by the fact that she could keep it in just-dead condition.

DAVEBOT: like how long have you been alive JADE: yes, that one.

[...]

ARADIA: oh maybe a few hundred years or so DAVEBOT: what JADE: what? ARADIA: well if i had known you were going to be so judgy about it DAVEBOT: when did this happen ARADIA: oh i spent some time in other doomed realities and timelines and came back before anybody could tell i was gone

Hm!

We knew she spent a LONG time in the dream bubbles, enough to talk to “pretty much all of the Nepetas”, but she was actually able to access a universe or universes and hop between them? That’s not something any time traveller we’ve seen has been explicitly able to do intentionally before, quite like she’s describing.

DAVEBOT: oh just out for a bit of fun then DAVEBOT: just hopped on over to a different reality DAVEBOT: real casual like DAVEBOT: oh hello dont mind me just popping in to see if it really is as doomed as they say it is DAVEBOT: did not disappoint ARADIA: yes almost exactly like that :) DAVEBOT: who did you hang out with are they cooler than me ARADIA: it is complicated to explain DAVEBOT: oh ok nevermind then DAVEBOT: all clear

Yep, he’s kinda bewildered. Is this Pesterquest stuff she’s referring to? Did she stop by Pesterquest?

DAVEBOT: a whole alternate universe ripe with the coolest motherfuckers imaginable ARADIA: you were there too i threw your air conditioner into the sun DAVEBOT: wow thats fucked up DAVEBOT: thats not where that goes at all JADE: these events are not-canonical. ARADIA: rude

Ah! Yeah, almost certainly Pesterquest. (Still haven’t played that and have little inclination to now that I’m more sure we aren’t being gaslit with intentional continuity errors, just disappointed by actual continuity errors.) Oh! And that makes a bit more sense because I imagine that’s Black Hole territory, and that territory outside of Canon seems pretty rich and easy for time-travellers to hop between stories and timelines willy-nilly. As they’re apt to in fanfics, which is the most appropriate way for things to be in that realm!

DAVEBOT: is that the trope of being hundreds of years old but looking young forever patently sucks ass DAVEBOT: a plot device an asshole would write ARADIA: :( JADE: that is not what i am trying to say at all. DAVEBOT: hmm wow yeah thatd really be a sort of pot/kettle situation i guess DAVEBOT: i cant believe im the only woke one here DAVEBOT: its hard being such a visionary AND such a fine metallic specimen DAVEBOT: but im an altruist first and fucking foremost ARADIA: so selfless JADE: yes, the greater narrative is truly blessed by your beneficent presence. DAVEBOT: oh so you got jokes now huh JADE: i have always had the ‘jokes’ of which you speak, but i have heretofore exercised restraint in laying you low. JADE: i possess knowledge of many of your iterations, as the scope of my powers allows me to exist in several narrative structures at once. DAVEBOT: but can she see why kids love the sweet cinnamon taste of cinnamon toast crunch JADE: i do not know, or care, what that means. ARADIA: neither do i :)

I’m actually really enjoying this conversation

JADE: its cultural significance to you as an earthling is wasted on the two of us entirely, as we have not conflated the misguided notion of clinging to nostalgic cereal advertisement trivia with socially relevant conversation.

Pff she literally checked her meta notes just now to learn what the cereal ads were after admitting she didn’t know what it meant and pretending not to care

> ==>

Oh, closer look at Davebot. Are those actual SHAPED shades over his robotic eye bulges? Weird, I thought it was just a lazy line drawn between them with red sharpie at first, Sans style. That would’ve been funny.

> ==>

Ohh, I get it. I was gonna say that was an unwarranted reaction... but he just realized that the Time-wait puns will be coming from BOTH his shipmates from now on. That’s gotta be a downer. :)

> ==>

HOLY

FUCKING

SHIT

IS ALT-CALLIE LAUGHING!??!?!?!??

That’s REALLY, REALLY GOOD!!! SHE’S ALREADY LAUGHING OCCASIONALLY THAT MAKES ME SO HAPPY

“BEST NARRATOR” COFFEE CUP

SHE’S ADORABLE

> ==>

Ah, was that Jade kicking you out? Or just the multiverse punishing you for being briefly happy :(

--oh, end of the update. Guess that’s it for now!

...

Alright I know I’m A BIT BEHIND on covering the HS2 commentary,

But

I really would rather wait on that a bit longer if that’s alright. Real busy and stressful week or two. (Found out my hair is starting to thin noticeably at age 31! Quite suddenly, too. Blood test looks fine so it’s nothing serious... gonna see a doctor to check if anything can be safely done about that, it’s really hurting my self-esteem more than I thought it would. Didn’t think it would hit my emotions that hard when it eventually happened, knew it was likely but not so SOON... really messing with my anxiety every time I accidentally touch my hair, now. I’ll deal with it.)

If I sound really aimless in this post, I think it’s cause I am? My mental and emotional energy’s REALLY drained. I’m glad that June/July break in HS^2 happened when it did, and I’m definitely glad there’s apparently plenty in HS^2 I can really enjoy, if this update is anything to go by. Maybe this comic can help lift me up instead of knocking me down. :)

See y’all later! More Patreon commentary blogging catchup after some other upd8.

#Homestuck #hs2 #Homestuck Liveblog #upd8 #Homestuck^2 #Homestuck Theories #Homestuck Theory #spoiler #spoilers #Classes and Aspects #Space and Time #Aradia

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sergeanttucker · 5 years ago

Text

Super Soldier Sandwich

Summary: Bucky and (Y/N) throw a Party and Steve stays longer to help ‘clean up’.

Warning: Smut! ,badly written smut!, some dirty talk and swearing, oral sex (f/m receiving), a little choking, Steve’s and Bucky’s dirty mouth, man-kissing, Alcohol and drug using (please don’t do this)

Word count: 5382 (Sorry.)

AN - I apologize in advance for the mistakes I have made regarding drug use. I myself have no experience with it and have used descriptions of others for the story. Please do not take drugs, it rarely ends in a threesome with two super soldiers.

AN2 - This is the first time I've written a threesome and it's not as easy as you'd think. However, it is a lot of fun! The second part is hopefully ready on the weekend. Have fun!

Part Two

Masterlist

A few days ago, Bucky and (Y/N) moved together to a small house on the outskirts. Nothing too big or too small, it was the perfect size for the two. It had a pretty backyard and even a medium size pool, perfect for relaxing on hot days. Today they had a full house. They kicked off a little party to inaugurate the house and invited all their Avengers colleagues and some Shield agents.

The evening was drawing to a close; it was already two o'clock and slowly but surely all their guests were going home.

(Y/N) and Bucky both stood at the front door and said goodbye to Tony and Pepper before they closed the door. (Y/N) leaned her back against the closed door and dropped her head back as a sigh left her lips. "I love these people; I really do but I'm glad they're gone now."

Bucky chuckled and trapped her between his body and the door. He leaned down and started kissing her neck as he mumbled against her skin. “You wanted this party; we could have inaugurated the house alone." He finished his sentence with a bit to her shoulder.

(Y/N)'s arms snaked around his neck and one of her hands trailed his long hair to pull his face towards hers. "And how would our private party have gone?"

"Oh, I had some ideas, and none of those ideas would have involved clothes." He grinned at her and let his hands wander from her hips, over her butt to her thighs before he picked her up. (Y/N) wrapped her legs around his waist and grinned as she leaned toward him and kissed him. She tugged at his hair a little, which pulled a grunt out of his throat and she took this moment to push her tongue into his mouth

Just as the kisses and touches got more heated and Bucky began rubbing against her, they were interrupted by a coughing behind them. They both looked in the sound's direction and saw Steve standing at the end of the hall, his face red as a tomato as he rubbed his neck awkwardly. "You're kidding me." Bucky dropped his head against (Y/N)'s shoulder, his face twisted into a pout.

"Steve, what are you still doing here? I thought you left with Sam." Although she was confused that he was still there, her voice was gentle. "Well, I ... I thought I'd stay a bit and help clean up."

"Does it look like we're going to clean up now?" Bucky's tone was tougher than he had wanted, and (Y/N) slapped him on the back of the head for that. "Stop being such an ass." Bucky mumbled something incomprehensible against her neck and then let her back down onto the ground.

(Y/N) walked down the hall and past Steve toward the living room. "Then let's get rid of the mess, guys."

Bucky rolled his eyes annoyed and pretty obviously straightened his jeans before he also walked past Steve into the living room, on the way he slapped Steve in the back of the head and mumbled "punk" as he did.

With three people, it took about an hour to clear the remnants of the party, and when they were done, they sat in the living room drinking another beer. (Y/N) was sitting on the sofa with Bucky, her legs over his lap as his hand lay on her knee, occasionally stroking her leg. Steve sat opposite them on a two-seater and sipped his beer while Bucky told stories of their childhood together.

"... and then he puked. It was everywhere, and he even hit her shoes." (Y/N) laughed out loud and held her aching belly, which already hurt from the previous stories. "That's not fair, this hot dog was at least three weeks old, the same thing would have happened to you." Bucky just grinned at him and finished the rest of his beer. Steve rolled his eyes, a slight blush covering his neck and face as he got up to bring his bottle to the kitchen.

When he came back, he saw a small bag lying on the couch and picked it up, he squinted his eyes as he examined it. "Steven Grant Rogers! Did you bring drugs to my house? "(Y/N) looked at him reproachfully, her voice a confused and at the same astonished tone.

"No, of course not, that's not mine!" His eyes grew wide, and he dropped the little bag he still held in his hand on the table. "Wow, Steve, I'm really disappointed in you." (Y/N) bit the inside of her cheek to suppress the laughter and tried to look at him with an actually disappointed expression. Bucky just sat next to her and shook his head disapprovingly at Steve.

"Come on, guys, I ... I would never ... you know, I would never bring drugs, I don’t even know where to get them!" Steve stuttered and waved his hands nervously as he tried to make it clear that it was not his bag.

(Y/N) could not stand it anymore and started laughing again, almost falling off the couch if Bucky had not held her. Bucky's chest was also rumbling with laughter. "Calm down, punk. It's just a weed. No reason to freak out."

Steve gave him his best bitch face and dropped back onto the couch. Annoyed that (Y/N) was still giggling, he dropped his head back and ran a hand over his face.

"Ok, ok, I calmed down." Her face was red with laughter, her eyes glassy and her voice breathless. She dropped to the floor and slid over to the table to look at the package.

"Did not think any of the others actually smoked grass, what do we do with it?" She turned the packet in her hand as she waited for an answer.

“Throw it in the trash, what is there to think about?" Steve, dutiful as always. Once Captain America, always Captain America.

"Or... we could smoke it." Bucky looked at her with raised eyebrows, astonishment evident in his face. Steve, on the other hand, looked at her with his best disapproving dad look.

"Come on, don’t look at me like that, Steve. It will be fun. We could find out if the Super Soldier Serum prevents you from getting high. It's for science!" She had a wide, excited smile on her face.

Normally, (Y/N) would never even dream of taking drugs, but the alcohol running through her system made her loosener than usual. Bucky grinned broadly at her enthusiasm and nodded in agreement. “I’m in. Let's do it." (Y/N) smiled happily at Bucky before her eyes turned back to Steve.

Steve looked from (Y/N) to Bucky and then back again. He was not convinced and they could see it clearly on his face. (Y/N) crawled over to him on the floor and thrust her lower lip out as she stopped between his spread legs. Bucky licked his lower lip when he had the perfect look on her ass as she crawled to his best friend.

She looked up at him with her best puppy look, eyes wide and pleading. "Please Steve. Do it for me?" Steve gritted his teeth and swallowed the lump in his throat. If she just stopped looking at him like that, then maybe he could say "no" to her, but the picture of her between his legs... she looked like an angel with her pleading wide eyes ... He would probably say "yes" to anything she asked him.

"Fine..." He gave himself beaten, and he did not regret it when the excited squeal of (Y/N) sounded in his ears. She clapped her hands briefly before crawling back to the table, Steve's eyes falling on her ass. Bucky saw where his eyes were fixed and winked at him grinning when their eyes met. Steve blushed a bit and turned his gaze to (Y/N), who just opened the bag and began to twist a joint.

"Looks like you have a lot of practice, doll." Commented Bucky when he saw how skillfully she completed the joint. "I’m good with my hands.” A dirty smirk spread on Bucky’s face. “Oh, I know Doll.”

When she was done, she sat down on the couch next to Bucky and pulled a lighter from her pocket. She put the joint between her lips and lit it. She took a draft and inhaled deeply before she blew it out and handed the cigarette to Bucky. When it was Steve's turn, he hesitated for a moment, but then decided to go through with it. He coughed a bit and handed it back to (Y/N).

After a while, it became clear that both Steve and Bucky could get high. All three had red, dilated eyes and (Y/N) giggled uncontrollably as Bucky began to kiss her neck. His kisses were hungry and the way he pulled (Y/N) onto his lap suggested that the grass made him even hornier than he had been before. He grabbed her butt with one hand and pressed her against him as his metal hand reached into her hair and made sure she could not pull her head away as he pressed his lips onto hers.

All the while Steve sat opposite them on the two-seater and let his eyes wander around the room, completely unaware of what was ahead of him. He looked a little lost until a moan from (Y/N) tore him out of his trance, his eyes snapped in the sound's direction and his mouth opened slightly as he watched the two, his head tilted to the side.

Steve watched as (Y/N) raised her arms over her head so Bucky could take her shirt off. She met Bucky halfway and kissed him heatedly, her hips rocking down against his. A cold and a warm hand wandered over her torso, over her ribs and cupped her breast. A shiver ran down her spine when he squeezed them. Bucky broke the kiss when he remembered Steve was still there. He grinned at him over (Y/N)'s shoulder and whispered in her ear.

"Remember how we talked about inviting Steve into the bedroom?" She nodded and pressed her breasts harder into his hands. "Now is the perfect time. Why don't you go over and find out if he wants to join?" (Y/N) whimpered at the thought and got off of his lap. She turned and dropped to her knees before crawling to the blond soldier again, this time though, it was with a different intention.

Steve swallowed hard as she crawled between his legs, her hands gripping his knees and stroking up toward his thighs. He gripped the cushions on both of his sides, his hands were twitching with the urge to touch her. His eyes dropped to her bra clad chest, and it took every ounce of his self-control to not throw her onto the couch and have his way with her.

One of (Y/N)'s hands moved across his stomach to his chest and she bit her lip as she felt his muscles working under his skin. She gripped the fabric of his way too tight shirt and tugged him down to her until their noses were touching. His eyes dropped to her lips as she spoke. "Do you want this, Steve? Do you want me?" Her voice was quiet and silky and she waited patiently for an answer.

Steve's eyes went to Bucky to watch his reaction, but he just leaned back with a grin, his arms spread across the back of the couch he was sitting on. (Y/N)'s thumb traced his lower lip and pulled it down slightly, Steve's eyes snapping back to her.

"Yes." He gripped the back of her neck and pulled her in for a messy kiss. Their teeth knocked together at one point but neither of them cared. He pulled her up and onto his lap without breaking the kiss. His hands stroked up her side, feeling the soft skin there before they dropped down to her ass, squeezing it which caused (Y/N) to sigh against his soft lips. It felt different from when she was with Bucky but she wouldn't complain.

(Y/N)'s hands went into his perfect blond hair and she tried to tug his head back to gain some control over the kiss but there was no use in it, Steve wouldn't let her. He slapped her ass as a warning, but was only met with a whimper of the girl above him.

He spanked her again, harder this time, and (Y/N) broke the kiss for a much louder moan as her hips bucked against his. Steve licked his lips and a dirty grin spread on his lips. A grin she'd often seen on Bucky, but not once on Steve. It almost looked out of place on his usually so composed face, but damn it, it only made her hornier.

"You like it when your pretty little ass gets spanked, huh?" She was still rubbing against him as he spoke, trying to get some friction. A needy whimper escaped (Y/N)'s lips as Steve stopped her movements with one hand on her hip. "I want an answer, darling."

The hand around her hip tightened. His voice was hard, as if he was talking about an imminent mission while wearing one of his suits. "Yes, Captain. I love it when you spank my ass." An animal-like groan erupted from his throat at the mention of his title. He kissed her hard before he got up, still holding her in his arms, and dropped her on the couch next to Bucky.

Steve turned her around, so she had to face her boyfriend and pulled her up on her hands and knees. (Y/N) licked her lip in anticipation when Steve tugged her Jeans down, exposing her panty clad bottom to him. He groaned at the sight and stroked over one of her cheeks. "Can't wait to see this pretty little ass all red with my handprints." So he was an ass man. Interesting.

A grin spread on (Y/N)'s face at the thought but it was soon replaced with a look of pure pleasure as the sound of another hit echoed through the room. Without her pants as a barrier it stung even more than before, but the pornographic moan that tumbled from between her lips told everyone nearby how much she liked it. The next blow sent her forward, and she braced herself on Bucky's thigh to not fall face first into his crotch.

Bucky just chuckled deeply and cupped her cheek after the next blow. "Having fun, doll?" Because he sure as hell did. He liked to watch how his best friend handled his girlfriend, even though he was surprised that Steve was so dominant. Bucky thought Steve would be more on the soft side and let (Y/N) lead, but apparently, he was wrong.

(Y/N) just nodded hastily and wiggled her ass at Steve, trying to persuade him to give her more but Bucky had other plans and made her get up and stand in front of the couch. Steve frowned at Bucky. "I wasn't finished yet." Bucky smirked and pulled him down to sit beside him. “Don’t worry. You'll like what comes next." His next words were directed at the girl in front of them. "Take off your pants."

(Y/N) did as she was told and wiggled her Jeans down the rest of the way before she kicked them to the side. Her hands twitched at her sides, nervousness and excitement shot through her body. She would be lying if she said that she was not at least a bit intimidated by these two mountains of muscles in front of her.

The two super soldiers sat with their legs spread wide on the couch and eyed her up and down. Steve clenched his jaw when his eyes fell on the little wet spot on her panties.

Bucky licked his lip as he made her come closer with a gesture of his finger, but he stopped her with a raised hand when she stepped closer. "On your knees, doll."

Instantly, (Y/N) dropped down to the floor and crawled between his spread legs. She sat back on her legs, clasped her hands in her lap and looked up at Bucky as she waited for further instructions. Steve's arousal only grew as he watched her. "Shit, she's so obedient."

Bucky chuckled and stroked through (Y/N)'s hair. “She is. You're my good girl, aren't you?" (Y/N) smiled broadly, pride shining in her eyes as she nodded. "Yes, daddy." Steve's head fell back against the backrest as a groan sounded from his throat. He was sure (Y/N) would be the death of him.

Bucky merely smirked at the pet name and cupped her jaw before he leaned down to kiss her softly. He stayed close when he broke the kiss, their lips still touching as he spoke his next words. "Want to make daddy and your captain feel good?" (Y/N) nodded and tried to steal another kiss but Bucky just leaned back against the couch and gestured to his belt. "You know what to do then.”

Immediately her hands went to the waistband of his pants. Her hands were shaking as she unbuckled his belt and opened his pants. Bucky lifted his hips to help her taking his pants and boxer off. A heavy sigh left his lips as his achingly hard cock was freed from its confines. It lightly slapped his stomach, a bit of pre-cum already gathered at its tip. (Y/N) knew better than to touch him right away and waited with her hands on his thighs until he said something: “You can touch.”

She didn’t need more encouragement and gripped the base of his cock. Her tongue darted out to lick the salty pre-cum from his tip. She hummed at the taste and wrapped her lips around the tip, sucking gently. Bucky grunted and put his metal hand on her head, not yet guiding, just resting it there as he let (Y/N) set her own pace for now.

Bucky’s eyes briefly fell to Steve. He was breathing heavily as he watched how Bucky’s cock disappeared into the warmth of (Y/N)’s mouth, how she circled his tip and the hand not holding his base cupped his balls to squeeze them gently. Bucky’s eyes closed with a heavy groan when (Y/N) took him deeper, letting him hit the back of her throat. His hands twisted into her hair and he lifted her up from him. Another groan left his throat as he saw a string of salvia still connected her lips to his cock.

He stroked her cheek with his free hand and gazed at her watery eyes. “Don’t forget your manners, babygirl. The Captain is our guest. You don’t want to let him wait, do you?”

“No, Daddy.” She shook her head and after Bucky dismissed her with a tilt of his head, she quickly slipped between Steve’s legs and tugged his pants and boxer down. A needy whine left her lips when his cock sprung free, standing proud and just begging to be sucked. She eyed him hungrily and licked her lips. “Ask nicely, babygirl.” Bucky’s deep voice sounded, her eyes snapping up to Steve’s at the sound.

“Please, Captain, may I suck your cock?” Steve grunted in the back of his throat, it’s a deep sound that send a shiver down (Y/N)’s spine. He was sure he would explode at any moment. Her eyes were big and pleading as she looked up at him, innocence written over her face. “You want to suck my cock?” Teasing, he wrapped his hand around his cock and started to stroke himself slowly, his fist getting tighter on the way up. Moaning breathlessly, (Y/N) scooted closer and lay her cheek against his thigh, watching every of his movements closely. “Yes, please.” She knew she was begging, but she didn’t care.

Steve bit his lip and smirked at the desperation in her voice. He put his hand in her hair and guided her mouth to his cock. As if it has a live on its own, (Y/N)’s tongue darted out as Steve rubbed his tip over her lips. She moaned as his musky flavor hit her taste buds, it’s definitely different from Bucky’s but, once again, she wouldn’t complain.

As soon as Steve was satisfied with how his pre-cum was smeared over her lips, he let her take over. “Go on. It’s all yours.” He gestured to his crotch and chuckled at her enthusiasm as she took his length into her hand and stroked him, trying to get used to his size and girth though it wasn’t that different from Bucky’s. Once she found a slow but steady pace, her tongue came into play; kitten-licking the head, her tongue lightly dipped into his slit to catch a drop of his salty essence.

She moaned around the head of his cock, sending vibrations through him which caused his hips to buck upwards. (Y/N) gagged when his cock suddenly hit the back of her throat but it didn’t bother her that much, she just took him out of her mouth to catch her breath before she licked a broad stripe up his length, suckling his tip as soon as she reached it.

A breathless groan reached her ears, but instead of Steve, it was Bucky. She glanced over at him and saw how he stroked himself to the image of her on her knees, sucking off his best friend. His eyes were dark and trained on her mouth, stretched around the cock that doesn’t belong to him.

Another moan left (Y/N) as she watched her boyfriend. This shouldn’t turn her on as much as it did, but damnit, her panties were soaked by now. She rubbed her thighs together in hope to get some friction on her aching clit but she soon realized it wasn’t enough and sneaked one of her hands between her legs and into her underwear. The moment her fingers touched her clit, a loud moan tore its way out of her throat and was muffled against Steve’s cock. The vibration of it caused him to groan and his eyes closed as he threw his head back.

Bucky squinted his eyes at (Y/N). As he saw what she was doing, he grabbed her hand and pulled it out of her panties. A disappointed whine left her lips as she was yanked away from between Steve’s legs and landed on Bucky’s lap. The blond soldier watched with a puzzled expression as he wrapped his metal hand around her throat. His eyes were hard as he stared at her.

“Did I say you could touch yourself?” (Y/N) sat on his lap as if she was frozen, the hand around her neck tightened when she didn’t answer, her own hand flying to his wrist. “Did I?” Bucky’s voice was dangerously low. (Y/N) knew she needed to answer or else her punishment would be even worse than it already would be.

“No, Daddy.” Her voice was hoarse; she could barely talk because of the grip he had on her. “Right, I didn’t. Now tell me, why do you disobey me? I thought you were my good girl?” (Y/N)’s eyes went wide at the disappointment in his voice and eyes. “I… I just want you so bad.” His hand loosened a little at her words, his thumb drew soothing circles on her neck. “I’m sor…” She was interrupted by a finger pressed to her lips.

"Shh… It's okay, babygirl. I'll let it go this one time because we have a guest and because it's a new situation, but I don’t want to see this again. Got it?"

“Yes, daddy. I’m sorry.” Bucky smiled and cupped her face instead of her throat to pull her in for a soft kiss, tongues tangling together as (Y/N) sighed against his lips. He kept her face close to his when he broke the kiss, lips touching as he spoke. "Since you made us feel so good, what do you say if we return the favor?" The eager nod was enough of an answer for Bucky. His hands wandered over her back to the clasp of her bra, snapping it open he threw it away before he cupped them in his hands.

After one more kiss Bucky’s soft lips travelled over her jaw and neck. A mewling-like sound erupted from (Y/N)’s lips as he found her sweet spot and sucked a mark there, soothing the sting with his tongue. She arched her back when his lips travelled further down to the top of her breasts.

“Prettiest tits I’ve ever seen...” He murmured right before he sucked her nipple into his mouth. (Y/N)’s hands went into his hair and she lightly tugged on it as he bit down onto her nipple before he let go of it with a `pop`. Bucky turned her around so her back was pressed against his chest and spread her legs wide, one of his arms was wrapped around her waist, preventing her from moving too much.

Steve groaned loudly at the sight. A slight blush and her soaked panties the only thing covering her from his hungry eyes. “What do you say Steve? Want a taste of my sweet girl?”

“Fuck, yes!” He didn’t need to be asked twice and instantly dropped to his knees, right between her open legs, his eyes were fixed on the wet spot on her panties. But no matter how much he wanted her juices to fill his mouth he didn’t touch her until she gave her consent. Bucky pressed his lips against (Y/N)’s ear. “Do you want this, babygirl? Want your Captain to eat your little pussy?”

“Shit… Yes! Please, Ste..Captain! Please, eat my pussy!” Both men chuckled at the pure want in her voice. Steve’s hands moved up her legs and ripped her panties from her body. Patience is a virtue he didn’t seem to possess, at least not in this moment.

An animal-like groan tumbled from Steve’s lips when he saw her glistening pussy right in front of him, begging him to dive right in, but he mustered up enough control over his needs to tease her a little first. He began kissing up her left leg, starting at the inside of her knees. (Y/N) began to tremble as he reached her thigh, which was sticky with her arousal, but Bucky tightened his arm around her waist so she couldn’t move.

A frustrated whine left her lips when instead of giving her what she wanted, he started to give her right leg equal attention. He nipped at her thigh and licked the juncture of her thigh, totally ignoring her aching pussy. (Y/N) bucked her hips up, hoping to get closer to Steve’s hot mouth but she was stopped from Bucky’s arm. He even dared to chuckle at her misery!

“Come on, Stevie. Look at her, she’s desperate!” Steve lifted his eyes to her face, a smirk tugged at his lips at her wrecked appearance; chest heaving in anticipation, eyes wide and pleading.

“You’re right. She’s been so good, she deserves a reward.” Eyes staying on hers, he slowly got closer to her pussy until he was eye level. His eyes dropped down and his breath grew ragged as her smell hit his nose. Not able to wait any longer, he darted his tongue out and licked a broad stripe up her folds, bumping her clit in the process.

Both (Y/N) and Steve moaned loudly at the first contact of his wet muscle on her most sensitive parts. Out of instinct, (Y/N) tried to close her legs, the pleasure almost too much to bear but Bucky held her open with his legs.

“Fuck, (Y/N). You’re completely soaked.” He dove right back in, not holding back this time. Tongue drawing different patterns on her clit, he soon pressed one of his fingers against her opening, not yet entering, just teasing. He growled as one of (Y/N)’s hands gripped his hair, holding him against her in fear he would suddenly stop and let her unsatisfied.

Two fingers entered her and made her jump slightly at the sting. Her ass rubbed against Bucky’s cock, which was trapped between their bodies. He groaned against her ear, his free hand wandered up to squeeze her breast. “Does this feel good, babygirl? Feels good how he fucks your tight cunt while he sucks your pretty little clit?” His voice was breathy in her ear. Bucky seemed to enjoy this as much as (Y/N) did, his cock leaked pre-cum on her back.

Too far gone for an actual answer her only response was another moan as Steve suddenly pulled his fingers out of her only to push his tongue inside. His fingers went to her clit, rubbing figure eights on it. “Yeah, I bet you love this. I can see how you soak Steve’s face with your juices.” Her thighs began to shake. The pleasure Steve was giving her and Bucky’s gravelly voice whispering dirty words in her ear almost pushed her over the edge. She just needed a little more.

Slowly, very slowly Bucky’s metal hand slid up her body. He knew what she needed to fall apart instantly. “You’re close, aren’t you? I can see it. I want you to cum for us. Cum all over Stevie’s mouth, he’s waiting for it. Be a good girl and give him what he wants.”

Her eyes rolled back into the back of her head and as soon as Bucky’s hand was wrapped around her throat, an earth-shattering orgasm shot through her. Her thighs were trembling, her walls clenching and unclenching. Steve moaned in the back of his throat as she pulled at his strands and her juices hit his tongue. The vibration of it send shock waves through her body and she tried to close her legs but Steve grabbed her thighs with both of his hand and held her open. He didn’t stop! Not even as (Y/N) trashed uncontrollably and tried to wiggle away, the pleasure too much on her sensitive cunt.

The obscene sound of how he slurped everything she offered filled the room alongside her moans which quickly turned to little yelps as he once again suckled on her clit. He tried to coax another orgasm out of her and it didn’t take long until it crashed down on her.

Bucky murmured comforting words into her ear as she came down from her second orgasm, his hand dropped from her throat and stroked her stomach, trying to calm her. “You’re doing so good, babygirl. So beautiful when you cum like this.” He pressed little kisses to her shoulder and neck, everywhere he could reach.

Steve lifted his head from between her legs, his face glistening with her juices as a dirty smirk pulled at his lips. He was proud of himself; it was written on his face. “You’re delicious, darling.” Still kneeling between her legs, he leaned over her slightly to press his lips against hers. (Y/N) moaned at the taste of herself on his lips and tongue.

“Oh yes. My pretty girl has the most delicious pussy. Can’t get enough of it.” To the surprise of both of them, Bucky tugged Steve’s face to himself and pressed his tongue into his mouth to get a taste himself. Steve froze for a moment, his body went stiff.

He wasn’t sure what to do at first, he had never kissed a man before but on the other hand… it’s not that different from kissing a girl, right? And besides that, he had already tried drugs today AND he’s about to have a threesome with his best friend so why not kiss him too?

(Y/N)’s jaw slacked as she watched their tongues tangle, Bucky groaned at the taste of Steve’s tongue and tugged at his hair to get a better angle, making the blond soldier moan too. (Y/N) quickly memorized the scene in front of her for later purpose.

She whimpered as they broke the kiss. She would have been content with watching them the rest of the night, but as soon as Bucky withdrew his head he pulled her in for a quick but intense kiss. “Let’s move this to the bedroom, shall we?”

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

Please tell me if you want to be tagged in the second part too!

@uhh-katie-griffiths @barney-james @meme–overload @aurora-sweet @morganhoran1671 @lokislittlewarrior @random-shit-for-you-all @1940sjamesbarnes @newfist-ofhydra @trshy-th0t @honeybutterparker @shesemeaux @thatweirdchick147 @saemlovespies @crazyhighaf @olythecat @marvel-mega @winterssoldierrs @kaideykat @gifsbysimplysonia @joyofbebbanburg @lucinkakys @mamallama613 @jensenackles441 @broitsriah @spicylangdon

Don’t know why but Tumblr wont let me tag all of you.

#bucky barnes x reader #steve rogers x reader #bucky barnes smut #steve rogers smut #bucky x reader smut #Steve rogers x reader smut #steve x bucky x reader #bucky x reader x steve #stucky x reader #bucky barnes fanfiction #steve rogers fanfiction #marvel fanfiction #marvel smut #avengers fanfiction #avengers smut #avengers x reader #marvel x reader #Bucky Barnes #Steve Rogers

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nemrut · 4 years ago

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Epic 7 - 27.05.21 update

So, big update coming tomorrow and a lot of good stuff for beginners, but mainly gonna focus on the units though.

For one, the ML selector stuff. Am lucky enough to already own 4 of the 6 heroes, so for me, it is a decision between Ruele and Dark Corvus (or a second arby in order to build 2 different arbys but I am ashamed enough of owning one arby already). For most people, it would make sense to get an Arby if you don't have one, but I do respect people who hate Arby and stick to their guns on that one. Unfortunately, I was not strong enough in character for that and went for the good character who made my PVP and farming life easier.

Personally, I am gonna go for Ruele. I know that Ruele might be in the next mystic rotation or the one after the next new mystic hero, since she is getting a skin in RTA, and they need to run her again in mystics before that, but honestly, not really interested in Dark Corvus. And I am hoping for a good, exiting new mystic 5 star. Maybe ML Cermia or ML Celine?

Then there is ML Kawerik. I know people are ragging on him, but honestly, he seems pretty solid. He has a really good S3, a decent S1 and a weird S2. But his S3 alone makes him worthwhile using. While he might not be bad, it is however undeniable that he is boring. He looks bland and his skills are nothing new and do not introduce a new mechanic or do some crazy thing. He cleanses, gives ATK buff and immunity. That is very respectable and useful, in both, PVP and PVE. But we have similar heroes. Personally, I just recently built DJ Basar, and I am not looking to replace him. Sure, he has no atk buff, but he grants some healing and CR push instead. It is a skip for me, but not because he is bad.

Besides, he might get a buff in the coming months, transforming him into a monster, but you can't really count on that.

Now, coming to Ilynav. She seems pretty cool. Her S3 is an aoe attack, giving herself immunity and everyone on her team increased crit dmg. Her dmg is also based on her own health. Now, that seems decent. Even if her modifiers turn out to be bad and that her dmg is subpar, it should still be decent dmg and crit dmg buff can be useful, depending on the team. The one thing to keep in mind though, is that crit dmg cannot exceed 350%, so on certain characters, it might be wasted.

Her S2 inflicts injury, also does dmg based on her health, gives herself a health buff and can be triggered by her S1. Her S1 just does dmg based on her health and can trigger her S2. It also says that dual attack is the only condition which may not trigger the S2, so counter set seems viable there.

She also has a crit chance imprint.

So, overall, if her dmg modifiers are low, I guess she could be underwhelming but I do feel like there is room to use her. And who knows, maybe she will have actually great modifiers and hit like a truck.

Lastly, Ml Khwazu. He just seems strong. His S1 burns, and has a higher chance to inflict burns if he has vigor. Also inflicts one additional burn then. His S2 is insane, as it can cleanse himself after being hit by an aoe. It also grants him vigor, recovers his health based on his own atk value and gives himself a 20% CR push. His S3 hits one enemy, strips all buffs, inflicts two burns and detonates all burns on the target. Ignores ER if he has vigor. Also only has a 3 turn cd. So, it is a single target warrior who can delete a lot of units with his s3 and can't be shut down by aoe control. Individual units with no aoe attacks could ruin his days but this still makes him fairly strong on paper.

That said, I am not going to roll for him since he is an ML 4 star, so there is no guaranteed pity on him. If I get him, I will build him, but if I don't, not going to get sad about it.

So yeah, neat units all around.

That said, as everyone knows, collab and summer units are on the horizon, so it is a time to not waste too many resources. I really shouldn't roll for Ilynav but I think I am gonna, mainly because I have enough BMs to get her without touching my skystones. Hopefully, she won't require me to use up all my BMs like the last knight did.

#epic 7 #epic seven

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lichlairs · 5 years ago

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Checkout our new post over at https://lichlair.com/daily-monster-42-chaos-quadrapod

Daily Monster #42: Chaos Quadrapod

Aaaalright! We got ourselves our first Acquisitions Incorporated monster! I myself don’t actually know that much about this particular WotC release, so I’m excited to do some research on it for this article. Without further ado, let us discuss the…

Chaos Quadrapod

The basics

I recently had the chance to run this monster as an after session rolled encounter and let me tell you, they’re kind of fun for CR 4 monsters.

In terms of stats we’re looking at a +4 STR, +2CON, and +1 DEX. This monster’s weakness lies in its low INT of -2 and its CHA of -3.

Despite being a giant blob of tentacles, it turns out that the Chaos Quadrapod is actually decently agile with a +5 in Acrobatics. Likewise, they’ve got above average perception skills with a +4 to any checks. Though I suspect the latter has more to do with its 120ft of Blindsight and passive perception of 14.

Also surprising? Their speed. We’re looking at 40ft of both walking and climbing movement. Despite their large size, this chaotic evil aberration is decently beefy with an AC of 14 and a hit point pool of 7d10+14, which, granted wouldn’t be that great without the Quadrapod’s Magic Resistance.

As for abilities, you will probably be using this monster’s Chaos Cloud (recharge after a short or long rest) that has the creature shoot a blinding knot of ethereal light capable of stunning ant creatures within 20ft of it on a failed CHA saving throw. Personally I think it’s kind of unfortunate that you can’t use this ability more often but I suppose it makes sense for a CR 4 creature. Definitely one of few things you could alter to make this encounter more challenging.

Your main (read only) output for damage will be the Chaos Quadrapod’s Tentacle attack, which also grapples and retrains the target. Keep in mind that despite having the prefix “Quad” in its name, you can’t grapple more than two targets at a time. I suppose it may have something to do with still being able to take two other tentacle attacks using its multiattack feature but I would like to think that it could use player characters as bludgeoning weapons, but alas.

No adequate image results, unfortunately.

If you’re still interested in running this creature even though its true potential clearly hasn’t been explored yet, you should probably know that the Chaos Quadrapod is considered a CR 4 creature.

The Lore

As mentioned in the intro segment to this article, the Chaos Quadrapod is actually quite new to the world of D&D, only having been released in June 2019, or last year for those of you keeping track, as part of the Acquisitions Incorporated source book.

Now, I’m not terribly familiar with the podcast, other than knowing that it was originally DMed by Chris Perkins himself, but I do know that the Chaos Quadrapod originated from the Far Realm.

In the book it is described as a cluster of four tentacles with a pulsing mass of ethereal light at the center of its body. Although I’m not certain as to how and there doesn’t seem to be any information on this out there, today’s monster somehow manages to channel the energy of its home plane to destroy anything foolish enough to cross its path.

In what’s probably the funniest method of transportation ever known to D&D, the Quadrapod actually just, flings its tentacles at the ground in front of it and drags itself along this way, slurping noises included. Which, again, just begs the question as to how this monster can possibly have a +5 to acrobatics.

As for the Far Realm, you should know that this is definitely not the craziest monster to come out of this wretched place. The Far Realm is often described as a plane of madness that is known to twist any creatures that dare enter into gruesome monsters. Honestly. I’d just hate to be the sucker that got turned into one of these things.

The execution

Before we begin exploring the possibilities of that come with this strange monster, we should probably discuss how exactly we plan on making this creature turn up as the latest encounter in your campaign.

For today’s encounter I would like to discuss a bit of a D&D phenomenon: the beach episode. We’ve all experienced it to some degree, whether as part of our games of simply by watching cartoons (especially anime for those of you who enjoy such things). If you’re not sure what it is that I’m referring to, you can read more about it from Drazzt in our latest Opinionated Goblin.

Since by now you’ve hopefully clicked that link and spent a few minutes reading about the topic, you probably know that one of the reasons why this type of session can be a lot of fun is because it allows us Dungeon Masters some extra room for creativity. What better way yo explore that than with a light up octopus that only has half its tentacles and is actually made out of light? Picture the following:

Though technically beach episodes can take place just about anywhere, let’s take the “beach” part literally. Your players are having a grand time in the swimsuit competition, smashing watermelons with obnoxiously large wooden hammers, and even dipping their toes for a quick swim in the blue blue ocean. For our nefarious purposes, it’s the latter that interests us. Imagine that while your players are having a pleasant dive in the sea, perhaps as some sort of competition to see who can hold their breath the longest or whatever it is that player characters are bound to do when they’re not saving the world, when all of a sudden a bright light threatens to blind your players as a rift into the Farm Realm opens and the Chaos Quadrapod begins its rampage on the Material Plane.

I think that would be about the right time to remind your players of the fact that they’re currently not wearing any gear. Granted this probably won’t stop the barbarian, and the casters will probably immediately cast Mage Armor, BUT this is still bound to make the encounter quite interesting. Will they spend the first turn trying to reach their equipment? Or perhaps the party will resort to improvised weapons. It’s definitely a good idea to encourage your players to get creative with this combat, the idea is to have fun.

If you’re looking to make this encounter a bit more challenging (which it should already be if the players are under equipped) you could also have a couple of other aquatic creatures go into a rage at the sight of the bright light emitted by the Chaos Quadrapod, or just, you know, throw in a coupe of Reef Sharks because why not.

If you enjoyed this article and don’t want to miss out on any of our future ones, make sure follow us on our social media to be informed whenever we post new articles. We write new content every day!

#Behind the Screen #chaos quadrapod #Daily Monster #dnd #dnd5e #dndbeyond #dungeons and dragons

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belevine-blog · 6 years ago

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BRETT LEVINE, who strongly resembles OLIVER STARK, is more commonly known as HYPERION. They are a 30/??? year old VRIV’AMT (alien) and they have been in the city for 20 YEARS. HYPERION have been known to have SUPER STRENGTH, SPEED AND FLIGHT. While they are not HYPERION, they are working their day job as FIELD COMMANDER in INNER SANCTUM. They are known to be CONFIDENT & IMAGINATIVE and DEVIOUS & IMPRACTICAL.

Hey, friends and fam. Swae here with a very long introduction for the man known as Brett Levine (and the Vriv’Amt known as Prince Le’Vrie-Em). Like legit warning, this is a very, very long introduction and I do apologize for the length - I like to be incredibly thorough. Hopefully, if you take the time to read it, you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you want to skip out reading it, hit me up and I can give you a super-condensed version so we can get to plotting it out!

Thanks for your time and I can’t wait to meet and plot with all of you!

Swae, out.

Vriv’Amt, a history.

The Alien race of Vriv’Amt - pronounced vrai-vham - is one that was originated from a planet called Vriv’Alandra. This is located in the Vulranpry System, in the Kr’riet Region in the Mid-Sector, bordering the edge of the Outer Rim. Unlike a majority of this system, Vriv’Alandra lacked a molten core. Instead, the planet has a conglomerate large, rocky tunnels and caves that have been flooded with water to help sustain the center of the planet - an ancient tale states that the center of the planet houses its strongest creature, the water level lulls it to sleep keeping it into its deepest slumber.

Originally, Vriv’Alandra had been the home of the Elder Saastucheal people - for those more familiar with Earth terms, the Saastucheal people are creatures with reptilian skin that shimmers an orange hue in the sunlight, faces like humans with a longer snout that mimicks that of a possum. The Saastucheal people have never been known to be friendly and were considered to be one of the most hostile creatures in the galaxy. The Saastucheal people had participated in the trade of people from different races across the galaxy.

The Vriv’Amt people were born during the intermingling of species in the Saastucheal holding cells. It was rumored that a single human and an unknown mixed alien had consummated their “love” in their holding cell and the first Vriv’Amt was born.

The first Vriv’Amt, L’rekyp, had brought the Saastucheal people to an end. L’rekyp had grown up in captivity and learned the ways of the Saastucheal people. As he grew, the turmoil of his people fueled the strength within him and he rallied the rest of his people bred in captivity to rise up against the Saastucheal. With the strength of the Vriv’Amt and the rest of the captive races, they were able to start a revolution and take over the planet for their own.

The Vriv’Amt were a quick race to populate a planet. Its people gained a reputation for being quick to adapt and advance - this ability earned them much hostility from neighboring planets and ambassadors. Though they tried to placate these hostilities, their neighboring planets sought out treaties and alliances against the Vriv’Alandra.

In the year 213 OPM, Vriv’Amt had joined the Galatic Republic and had lent the strength of its people and its planet to help this democratic party govern the galaxy.

In the year 289 OPM, the reigning King of Vriv’Alandra, Urig’Nyanda, made the mistake of falling in love with the Princess of Nuu’Tal and she made the same mistake with him. This union was rejected by the rules of Nuu’Tal, but the Princess and Urig’Nyanda did not care for their rejection. She was stowed to Vriv’Alandra and the two were married in the planet.

That union was the start of the end of the people of Vriv’Alandra.

Nuu’Tal and the other six neighboring planets and their people launched an assault on Vriv’Alandra for this unapproved union. It was a relentless assault that even with the abilities of the Vriv’Amt, they were unable to survive the battle. These Seven planets had built all of their weaponry with the Kyungr’Lo Stone - this stone has the ability to negate all of the abilities of the Vriv’Amt people and render them as common as the average human.

The Vriv’Alandra did not survive this assault. This assault decimated the entire population of the Vriv’Amt ...with the exception of one.

What are Vriv’Amt?

Vriv’Amt are an alien race that began on the planet Vriv’Alandra. Their physical appearance is similar to that of humans with the exception of their bright red eyes during battle.

The race was created by a human (rumored to be a mutant) who mated with with an unknown alien. To this day, the alien’s race and identity have been muddled. Throughout the history books of the Vriv’Amt, the alien’s race is often guessed or omitted. However, this alien’s race had granted the Vriv’Amt the following abilities:

Superhuman strength

Superhuman speed

Flight

Superhuman vision (including x-ray, microscopic, telescopic and infrared)

Super durability - immune to conventional firearms, but enough military grade artillery could very much kill him

Healing factor - all Vriv’Amt can heal with the power of water. It’s rumored that if a Vriv’Amt was close to death, one could easily throw the body into water and they would be healed. Perhaps it’s something to try later on.

Heat Vision

There is an unconfirmed rumor that the creature that lived in core of the planet had been what the mutant had mated with. However, with the planet left in pieces and core destroyed, there has never been an conclusion.

The Vriv’Amt are a strong people but they are not invulnerable. The below are their known weaknesses:

The Kyungr’Lo Stone - this red crystal has the ability to drain the life out of a Vriv’Amt. History states that the Kyungr’Lo was created by a scorned galactic witch to punish the Vriv’Amt; the witch did not realize it would be the death of its people.

Dehydration - Vriv’Amt get dehydrated very easily and are in constant need of water. If a Vriv’Amt does not get enough water, they will wither away into nothingness. They need to drink 10x the amount of water a human needs in one day or they will die.

Military Grade Artillery - common and conventional firearms will not harm Vriv’Amt but the higher military grade weapons can kill him. If you empty an entire AA12 Atchinson Assault rifle into him, even with his abilities, he won’t be able survive that.

Any attacks at that puncture their hearts will lead to instant death.

Brett Levine, a History.

>> Brett Levine was originally Prince Le’Vrie-Em, the son of King Urig’Nyanda and his bride, Queen Leesa-El of Nuu’tal. During the attack on Vriv’Alandra, the King had stowed him away into an escape vessel and ensured his safety from the assault. The moment his escape vessel left the planet, King Urig’Nyanda had hit the switch to launch the final assault into Vriv’Amt to end its people.

>> The vessel that the young prince had been placed in had originally been aimed at one of their allied planets. However, after accidentally stumbling into an unclosed portal between galactic systems, he was transported into planet Earth. He landed in the middle of the Levine Cattle ranch outside the of Ceres Centropolis.

>> He was found by Edmund and Layla Levine, a farmer and his grieving wife. The pair had recently lost their son to a cattle stampede. Layla swore that the Heavens answered her prayers when this vessel came into their farm. She bestowed the name Brett Levine to the child. Edmund had been wary of accepting the child into their family at first but he stepped into the father role immediately.

>> Brett’s history was kept locked away from him. His parents raised him as a normal boy. He went to school, helped out as a farm hand and did everything as American as apple pie. When he started high school, that’s when things got complicated. He wanted to play sports and that was the constant argument in the household - his abilities made him a liability to all of the other teenagers who were to play with him.

>> Eventually, Brett won the argument but had to show great restraint in every sport. He could have easily won everything, but to appease his parents, he held back and played as normally as he could. Though, it wasn’t unexpected for him to make the winning play every time they needed it.

>> Brett originally went into community college in their rural farming town. He attended it for two years until he transferred to Ceres Centropolis University when he was 20. After that, every thing that he thought he knew changed.

>> He attended CCU to focus on acquiring a Bachelor of Film and Television Production - he and his father argued about this also (”It’s a useless degree, Brett. You should do something worthwhile with your time. Be a doctor or a veterinarian, not a director!”).

>> During his time in college, Brett took on the mask and became Hyperion. He donned a white hood and finally began to use his powers for good. There was finally no need to hold back.

>> At this point, he graduated from CCU. However, instead of pursuing a career in his degree field, he went into working for Inner Sanctum. Originally starting off as an agent but eventually becoming a Field Commander. He enjoys working with the agent directly and being able to join them in the field.

>> At the moment, he wants to do his best to help Inner Sanctum succeed in every way he can and will not hesitate to volunteer himself to do the right thing, even if no one wants.

Fun Facts.

>> He drives a Honda CR-V because it’s one of the safest cars in the planet. At least, according to the television and his parents.

>> He lives in a studio apartment in the middle of Ceres Centropolis. He has a bad habit of flying into the window every time he finishes a mission as Hyperion. He does this so often that his land-lord suggested that he install a security camera to see who keeps breaking into the top floor.

>> His favorite food his shabu-shabu.

>> He still visits his parents outside of Ceres Centropolis. Especially during the holidays. His mother cannot stand the city’s traffic during then, so Brett’s the one who makes the drive there.

>> He tried to adopt a dog once, but he wasn’t home as often as he liked. This lead to the dog never realizing who he was and would constantly bark at him. The dog loved his mother, so he gave her the pup.

>> Though he is currently not directing, Brett likes to make short videos about his daily life and the people in it. He uploads it on his Facebook account so his mother doesn’t think he’s dead and believes that he’s currently living a normal, every day life. Not running around as one of those “masked hoo-haws that think they need to save the world” (her words, not his).

>> His favorite film directors are Francis Ford Coppola, Stanely Kubrick, David Lean, Miloš Forman and Akira Kurosawa.

>> If you ask him about his childhood, he will tell you about the time that he help birth a baby calf in the middle of the night. It’s boring. Don’t ask him.

#vi.intro

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cyberkevvideo · 5 years ago

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Throne of Night Theory Builds Part 6: Play as Myceloids (Book 3)

Today is Halloween. I figured it would be the perfect time to discuss playing a monster race. Namely, the Pathfinder 1st Edition mushroom monster, the myceloid.

When Gary first started developing the Throne of Night adventure path, he talked about alternate races that could do the scenario as well. One was as elves or humans who’d been bought as slaves. He even had a Campaign trait available in Book 1 that gave these non-darkvision characters, darkvision 30 ft. Not bad. It wasn’t brought up in detail, but I theorize that these particular characters would likely have managed to escape their drow or derro captures, and made their way to the outside world temporarily, whether with help from their saviours or even on their own. They could have even started in the village of svirfneblin and been nursed back to health.

One of the races that was talked about most as an alternative to the drow and dwarves, was the myconid. There was even art for it. So in one of the unpublished books (Book 3 specifically), we were supposed to have had a section that would have been all about playing this telepathic and voiceless mushroom race from D&D. And, unfortunately, there in lies the problem. They’re a Wizards of the Coast copyrighted race. They’re not OGL. You see fan versions online for both 3.5 and 5e, but they’re fan works only. They can’t generate any monetary value. Not without permission from WotC. My guess is Gary didn’t realize this when he first conceived of the idea and had the art work commissioned. He might have even thought Paizo would eventually release their own version, but they did not. Or that he could borrow from another 3PP, but no one officially released a clone version of the race. This sadly meant that Gary would never be able to see this come into fruition. And I can’t help but wonder if other copyright issues got in the way as well. But that’s just another hypothesis.

What could have been done, and it’s not exactly his forte, is to design his own version of the race or convert one that already exists in monster form. With the help of the Advanced Race Guide, that’s possible. Looking at it though, that would have taken up quite a bit of space in the book, and could even have other logistic issues that I might not be aware of. Thankfully, that doesn’t stop me from doing updates like this though.

Images shared here were done by the forever fantastic and amazingly talented Michael D. Clarke, aka SpiralMagus. The art is on Michael’s dA page, which I’ve brought over, and am sharing for this article.

EDIT : Going through Gary’s old updates, it seems he did realize at some point that the myconid race was not a possibility, but that he’d have to write for myceloids. The art piece uses the former name, but that was back in 2014. By 2015, Gary must have updated his notes for the final update that he gave us on the project. Saying: “Here also is another piece of preview art showing a party of myceloid adventurers. In Book Three, there will be an article about playing an all myceloid party through Throne of Night and this is the piece of art that accompanies that article.“ It’s still unknown whether or not he was waiting on Paizo to release an official race or if he was going to homebrew one just for this adventure path. He might have even have thrown caution to the wind and decided that he’d just have players go up as the 5 HD monsters and play them straight out of Bestiary 3 as-is. There’s a lot of options he could have gone with.

While the small size myconid is not a playable race, the medium size myceloid from Bestiary 3 is a possibility. Normally a CR 4 monster, and a mushroom creature at that, they have many abilities and traits that could come in handy. Normally of evil alignment, this definitely fits for the theme given for the drow side. It’d be interesting to know the reasons that these mushroom people would have for making their own kingdom. Maybe they’re all good-aligned and they want to establish an empire that showcases trade and emphasizes peace. Always a possibility. The party could consist entirely of black sheep myceloid that aren’t carnivores and looking to consume mortal flesh and have a magnitude of slaves. Or they could be the most evil of all myceloids and were booted for being too evil, and their own empire filled with cages upon cages of slaves that also serve as their food rations could be just the thing they’ve been looking for.

I broke the race down into two different sections. The first is a very playable and balanced race of only 12 race points (RP) with an optional section that shows a myceloid race class ala Savage Species (D&D 3.5) that slowly gives them back all of their abilities over the course of the 5 hit dice that a myceloid normally gets. If you haven’t seen them, Dreamscarred Press and Rite Publishing both have monster books that deal with this kind of progression as well. Necromancers of the Northwest did a stint on their site as well, for free, a few years ago. Everyone definitely has their own style of doing things. This just happens to be mine.

The second section is a much more Advanced Race version that puts the race at 25 RP. This rivals things like the svirfneblin, adaros, kasatha, and wyrood. All of which are 20 RP or greater. While I don’t break it down point for point, I do make mention of just how much this race would cost if you tried to get everything available through the Advanced Race Guide, for the race, without taking any racial HD.

Note: There is no telepathy ability in the Advanced Race Guide, however, strix have an ability to only be able to speak with avians, and it’s 0 RP. Figured that for 30 ft. a myceloid could speak to other myceloid with telepathy. You’re welcome to ignore and remove it though if you feel that’s not a correct assumption.

Myceloid Race Ability Score Modifiers +2 Strength, +2 Constitution, –2 Intelligence 1 RP Type Plant 10 RP Size Medium 0 RP Base Speed Slow 20 ft. –1 RP Senses Darkvision 60 ft. 2 RP; low-light vision — RP Thick Skin Natural armor +1 2 RP Special Quality Telepathy 30 ft.; other myceloids only 0 RP Weakness Vulnerable to electricity –2 RP Languages Xenophobic: Undercommon plus Common, Elven, Sylvan, Terran, Treant 0 RP

Total 12 RP

Myceloid Race Class Hit Die d8 Racial Class Skills Perception, Stealth Skill Ranks Per Level 2 + Int Modifier. HD BAB Fort Ref Will Special 1 +0 +2 +0 +0 Claws (1d4), thick skin, scent, shatter resistant, Survival +2, +2 Wis

2 +1 +3 +0 +0 DR 2/slashing, resist 5 (cold and fire), Sense Motive +2, telepathy (+10 ft.), +2 Con

3 +2 +3 +1 +1 Disease (purple pox), Survival +4, telepathy (affects purple pox sufferers too), +2 Str

4 +3 +4 +1 +1 Claws (1d6), DR 5/slashing, resist 10 (cold and fire), Sense Motive +4, telepathy (+10 ft.), +2 Con

5 +3 +4 +1 +1 Spore cloud, spore domination, telepathy (+10 ft.), +2 Str

Disease (Su) Purple Pox: inhaled or injury; save Fort DC 10 + ½ racial HD + Con-modifier; onset 1 minute; frequency 1/day; effect 1d2 Wis and 1d2 Con damage; cure 2 consecutive saves. A creature that dies of the purple pox becomes bloated over the course of 24 hours, after which its body bursts open, releasing a fully grown myceloid. Additionally, as long as a creature takes at least 7 points of Wisdom damage from the purple pox, it must make a Will save, equal to the initial save DC, each day to avoid becoming affected by a lesser geas (no HD limit) that compels the sickly character to seek out the nearest myceloid colony in order to offer itself up for spore domination. The save DCs are Constitution-based. Shatter Resistant (Ex) At each racial level, a myceloid gains resistance to sonic 2 (to a maximum of resist 10). Spore Cloud (Ex) Once per day as a standard action, a myceloid can expel a 10-foot-radius burst of spores centered on itself. This cloud persists for 1d3 rounds. Any creature caught in this cloud or that moves through it is exposed to the myceloid's purple pox disease—a creature need save only once against any one spore cloud, however, before becoming permanently immune to that particular spore cloud's effects. The spore cloud does not hamper vision. Spore Domination (Sp) This spell-like ability functions as charm monster, but functions only against creatures currently infected with purple pox. Thick Skin (Ex) At each racial level, a myceloid’s natural armor improves by +1 (to a maximum of +6).

If taking monster race hit dice isn’t your speed, or your GM doesn’t approve of this, an alternative is to play a version of the race that’s still playable, and uses the Advanced Race Guide to its fullest. While the total racial points looks like it’s a lot, remember that the svirfneblin is 24 RP and the newer released adoros shark humanoid race from “Blood of the Sea” Player Companion is 32 RP. It’s also been suggested that despite how powerful they are, playing an entire party of drow noble (41 RP) still wouldn’t give you much of an advantage. That’s honestly kind of crazy. So with that, in mind, if you’re allowed to play this, I’d go this route over the hit die route. That said, if you want to add in the rest of the stats and natural armor, you’re looking at +4 Str, +4 Con, and +2 Wis for 28 RP and the additional +4 natural armor comes to 14 RP. Improving the resistance to cold and fire to 10 is another 2 RP each for 4 RP. You’d also need to take the Improved Natural Attack to get the claws to 1d6 damage. Granted, you could just buy the “Named Feat” for 2 RP. Without the resistance to sonic, telepathy, spores, and disease, you’re still looking at a total of 73 RP. That’s beyond monstrous. But for now, here’s the basic version that’s more likely to be approved. Hopefully.

Alternate Myceloid Race Ability Score Modifiers +2 Strength, +2 Constitution, –2 Intelligence 1 RP Type Plant 10 RP Size Medium 0 RP Base Speed Slow 20 ft. –1 RP Senses Darkvision 60 ft. 2 RP; low-light vision — RP; scent 4 RP Thick Skin Natural armor +1 2 RP Natural Attacks Claws (1d4) 2 RP Energy Resistance Cold 5, fire 5 2 RP Skill Bonus Sense Motive +2, Survival +2 4 RP Weakness Vulnerable to electricity –2 RP Languages Xenophobic: Undercommon plus Common, Elven, Sylvan, Terran, Treant 0 RP

Total 25 RP

If you like this, I’ve done others, and a couple of 3PP have been making their own Savage Species compendium over the past couple of years. Seek them out. Necromancers of the Northwest probably did my favourites. The ogre mage and the medusa ones are what I used for the Way of the Wicked when we had to figure out how to work them into the story and advance them for the campaign. I changed them up a bit because they were missing a few ability score advancements and didn’t have a “base race” of 10 RP, which would have helped A LOT. But that wasn’t part of the original design because the creator thought that would make cause the PC to out-scale other PCs. Which, no, it won’t. Monster PCs of equal HD will never trump a standard PC. I guarantee you of this as someone who’s been forced to play one too many monster PCs. But that is neither here nor there.

What’s funny is that there was possible mention of a team of all kobolds doing this AP. I would have loved it despite the fact that they’re so weak. If you wanted to that out, I would highly, HIGHLY recommend the Jon Brazer Enterprises umbral kobolds or go with the standard Paizo kobold and make the advanced variants that gain bonuses on what chromatic dragon scales they have, and even gain a breath weapon of that type. Much more survivable. The party’s opponents would soon regret underestimating them just for being a kobold.

I hope you enjoy this update and should you do an underground adventure, whether Throne of Night or not, it’d be great if this race build was of benefit to you.

I will say though, that if you are running 5e because you’ve converted the AP to D&D 5e or are doing your own Underdark/Darklands campaign, I would absolutely implore you to seek out the fan made myconid race. It’s pretty well designed. I will say that a party of mutes would make for a very difficult campaign. However, I have heard of parties that are composed entirely of kenku. Those poor, poor DMs.

Have a happy and safe Halloween.

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cryptoquicknews-blog · 6 years ago

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New Post has been published here https://is.gd/xtDSAD

Brock Pierce, Mark Karpeles and the War of Words Over Mt Gox’s Future

This post was originally published here

Brock Pierce wants Mt. Gox creditors to receive 100 percent of whatever they’re owed – or so he says, anyway.

Weeks after announcing Gox Rising – his ambitious effort to unite the long-defunct exchange’s creditors, submit a civil rehabilitation plan and relaunch the Mt Gox exchange itself – Pierce, a prominent crypto-entrepreneur, is walking back just how concrete these plans are.

He’s also fought with former Mt Gox CEO and majority shareholder Mark Karpelès on Twitter about the feasibility of his plan and whether it’s even legal.

Gox Rising was launched as an alternative to Mt Gox bankruptcy trustee Nobuaki Kobayashi’s civil rehabilitation effort. Billed as a way to ensure creditors receive as much of their money as possible, the organization has published a proposed plan on its website, alongside a list of goals.

Two points, in particular, stand out: under the Gox Rising plan, no further bitcoins from Mt Gox’s estate would be sold, and “equity [holders] will make no claim on any of the cash held by the trustee,” according to the proposal (more on both later).

Gox Rising comes after years of bankruptcy proceedings for the Mt Gox exchange, which collapsed in 2014 after the theft or disappearance of nearly a million bitcoins (though some 200,000 were later recovered).

Before its fall, Mt Gox was the world’s first – and at one point, its largest – bitcoin exchange, conducting some 70 percent of all crypto transactions at its peak. When it first announced the loss of customer funds, the price of bitcoin tanked from $850 to $681, a nearly 20 percent drop at the time.

The exchange’s shutdown did not help what was turning into a bear market, which saw bitcoin’s price fall well below $400 over the next year, not beginning to recover until 2015.

Following Mt Gox’s collapse, Japanese prosecutors indicted Karpelès in 2017 on charges of fabricating information about the exchange and embezzling $3 million in customer funds to his own account at the end of 2013. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges, with a verdict expected sometime next month. If convicted, he could face as much as a decade in prison.

Last year, the exchange shifted to civil rehabilitation proceedings rather than outright bankruptcy, meaning creditors will receive bitcoins distributed directly on a pro-rata basis, instead of a cash equivalent based on bitcoin’s price at the time of the collapse.

Road to reopening

The crux of Gox Rising’s plan is to create a central store of information for Mt Gox creditors, ensuring that they receive accurate information about its civil rehabilitation as proceedings progress, said Pierce.

“Gox Rising is an initiative or movement to ensure creditors get what we believe is rightfully theirs. It’s an organization that’s selecting all of the information related to Mt Gox’s bankruptcy proceedings, aggregate that information so people know what’s going on,” he explained in an interview.

He told CoinDesk that the plan begins with an effort to acquire the Mt Gox brand. Gox Rising has yet to submit any bids to do so, but Pierce claims his organization has been working with the Japanese bankruptcy court overseeing the exchange.

He initially intends to buy Mt Gox’s “intangible assets,” meaning its domain and brand, pending court approval.

After that, Pierce has a three-part plan. The first part is to take stock of how much remains in terms of fiat and bitcoin holdings and share that information with creditors, as well as distribute funds as quickly as possible. Part two involves relaunching the exchange itself, giving creditors some level of ownership.

It’s the final part that is by far the most ambitious: an effort to try and recover somewhere between 650,000 and 850,000 BTC that remain missing.

“The question is can any of those coins be recovered. Maybe? We certainly have better tools today than we previously had to track down those coins,” Pierce said, though he did not go into detail when asked if his team has had any success in tracking the missing bitcoin thus far.

Who’s the boss?

However, questions remain over who actually owns the Mt Gox platform and its assets.

As of the beginning of 2014, the exchange’s two shareholders were Karpelès, who owned 88 percent of the company, and Jed McCaleb (who would go on to co-found Ripple and then Stellar), who held the remaining 12 percent. Pierce claims he bought them both out, but Karpelès insists neither purchase was legally finalized.

In the case of McCaleb’s shares, Karpeles argues the sale required approval from Japan’s bankruptcy courts. Pierce denies this.

“Jed McCaleb is of the opinion that we own the 12 percent, that is his current position as of this week. That has not changed over the past five years, there is no dispute,” Pierce said, adding:

“The sale was done prior to the courts so the courts may just have bad info. If Jed McCaleb is saying ‘yes, I haven’t owned these shares in five years and yes, I sold them to Brock,’ the courts can say whatever they want. We just haven’t bothered to go file anything.”

McCaleb did not respond to a request for comment from CoinDesk by press time.

While Karpelès did sign a letter of intent outlining terms for a possible sale of his Mt Gox shares to Pierce, he later sent a second letter rescinding the first, citing the fact that the Tokyo District Court did not approve any sale. Pierce did not sign the second letter.

Still, on Twitter earlier this week, Pierce said Karpelès “knows” he sold his 88 percent of Mt Gox to Pierce (Karpelès disputed this assessment).

However, Pierce was less certain when speaking to CoinDesk, explaining that while his U.S. counsel was confident that Pierce owned Karpelès’ shares in the exchange, he was waiting for his Japanese counsel to confirm.

For his part, Karpelès told CoinDesk via email that “the trustee confirmed to me [Mt Gox’s ownership] hasn’t changed and [is] still the same,” meaning Tibanne, Karpelès’ company, owns 88 percent of Mt Gox shares and Jed McCaleb owns the other 12 percent.

Kobayashi did not respond to a request for comment by press time.

Despite his insistence that he is the sole owner of Mt Gox, Pierce emphasized repeatedly that “we don’t care who owns the equity of Mt Gox,” but only “that the creditors get 100 percent” of their funds back.

Surplus funds

Part of the fight stems from a potential surplus of funds which may benefit shareholders. This surplus was created by selling bitcoins at their market value during the 2017 bull run, well above what they were worth when Gox was still in business. (The trustee ceased these sales after Gox entered civil rehabilitation.)

As a result, Pierce told CoinDesk, Karpelès might receive $700 million through the Tibanne bankruptcy, as it’s the bankruptcy trustee’s job to “get that money.” He’s repeated this claim online as well.

“We want to make sure Mark Karpelès doesn’t get any of it,” he added.

Karpelès, on the other hand, said he does not anticipate getting any funds paid through the Tibanne bankruptcy.

“Expecting money from a bankruptcy as a shareholder is typically nonsense, and the possibility only appeared because of the very unique circumstances the Mt Gox bankruptcy was in,” he said. Given that Mt Gox is now in civil rehabilitation, rather than pursuing bankruptcy proceedings, “there is definitely no chance” of shareholders receiving any funds.

Pierce did acknowledge that the change in status might affect whether Karpelès receives any funds, saying that “the bankruptcy trustee publicly stated that the owner of Mt Gox would be entitled to whatever the surplus was … now that it’s in civil rehabilitation, that may not be the case.”

He further added, however, that Karpelès is the “only person who cares about who owns” Mt Gox, saying:

“From our perspective it’s irrelevant … Karpelès is the one bringing it up and he cares a great deal because you know, he might be going to prison for 10 years, his sentencing is in March, and I imagine he’d be much more comfortable in prison with $700 million to his name than nothing.”

Goxcoin?

Still, if Pierce is granted control of the Mt Gox brand and domain, he hopes to relaunch the platform with creditors’ buy-in.

In the interview with CoinDesk, Pierce outlined how creditors would sign up and share in profits from the exchange.

“It would start out as a contract and it would most likely end up as a security token,” he said, noting his previous work with the asset type. “I started the first-ever security token at [Blockchain Capital] and I used to run a top 10 syndicate on AngelList … I know quite a bit about security tokens.”

He likened the prospective token to one issued by Bitfinex after that exchange was hacked in 2016. At the time, Bitfinex issued customers debt tokens representing their losses, which it bought back over the next year.

Further down the line, the token’s structure may change (to something more similar to Binance’s BNB token), though details are still to be determined, Pierce said. Despite his plans, however, he said he does not know when he might file a bid, though he hopes to have a clearer timeline in the coming days.

The delay stems from the fact that he has counsel in the U.S. and Japan trying to coordinate, he said. The vastly different time zones are effectively slowing down proceedings, though Pierce hopes to file his bid for the Mt Gox domain “soon.”

As for the ongoing civil rehabilitation efforts, “hopefully [the current plan under the bankruptcy trustee] will cover all the things that matter,” he said, adding:

“So unless we have a reason to believe that plan is not going to provide creditors with with they should have, there’s no reason for us to file a CR plan. The only reason is if there’s a problem with the CR plan.”

Karpelès was less confident about Pierce’s motivations, saying he “doubt[s]” that Pierce does not also see a benefit for himself.

In particular, Pierce’s belief that there is “some sort of surplus payout” for shareholders makes Karpelès think that Pierce is keeping something behind, and “that it’s probably not going to be good for creditors.”

“Creditors have done an extraordinary job of putting Mt Gox in civil rehabilitation and are still fighting for their rights by proposing changes to the trustee’s rehabilitation plan, and I do not believe they need someone to step in now and claim all the credit while trying to profit from the situation,” he said.

–AltcoinToday.com

Photo via Shutterstock.

Source: Coindesk

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click2watch · 6 years ago

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Brock Pierce, Mark Karpeles and the War of Words Over Mt Gox’s Future

Brock Pierce wants Mt. Gox creditors to receive 100 percent of whatever they’re owed – or so he says, anyway.

He’s also fought with former Mt Gox CEO and majority shareholder Mark Karpelès on Twitter about the feasibility of his plan and whether it’s even legal.

The exchange’s shutdown did not help what was turning into a bear market, which saw bitcoin’s price fall well below $400 over the next year, not beginning to recover until 2015.

Road to reopening

He initially intends to buy Mt Gox’s “intangible assets,” meaning its domain and brand, pending court approval.

It’s the final part that is by far the most ambitious: an effort to try and recover somewhere between 650,000 and 850,000 BTC that remain missing.

Who’s the boss?

However, questions remain over who actually owns the Mt Gox platform and its assets.

In the case of McCaleb’s shares, Karpeles argues the sale required approval from Japan’s bankruptcy courts. Pierce denies this.

“Jed McCaleb is of the opinion that we own the 12 percent, that is his current position as of this week. That has not changed over the past five years, there is no dispute,” Pierce said, adding:

McCaleb did not respond to a request for comment from CoinDesk by press time.

Still, on Twitter earlier this week, Pierce said Karpelès “knows” he sold his 88 percent of Mt Gox to Pierce (Karpelès disputed this assessment).

Kobayashi did not respond to a request for comment by press time.

Surplus funds

“We want to make sure Mark Karpelès doesn’t get any of it,” he added.

Karpelès, on the other hand, said he does not anticipate getting any funds paid through the Tibanne bankruptcy.

He further added, however, that Karpelès is the “only person who cares about who owns” Mt Gox, saying:

Goxcoin?

Still, if Pierce is granted control of the Mt Gox brand and domain, he hopes to relaunch the platform with creditors’ buy-in.

In the interview with CoinDesk, Pierce outlined how creditors would sign up and share in profits from the exchange.

As for the ongoing civil rehabilitation efforts, “hopefully [the current plan under the bankruptcy trustee] will cover all the things that matter,” he said, adding:

Karpelès was less confident about Pierce’s motivations, saying he “doubt[s]” that Pierce does not also see a benefit for himself.

Image via CoinDesk archives

This news post is collected from CoinDesk