#and it doesn't have to be *good* wine at that. obviously it tastes better with good wine

[the-eclectic-wonderer]

If you're still interesting you and anons might like to know that Dorothy definitely knows food words in Italian (Sicilian?) Because there's a few times where Sophia is cooking something and only says the name so Dorothy explains the dish to Rose/Blanche. You might remember the jokes where Sophia says gobblegook and Dorothy is like "even I don't know that one" and Sophia says that wasn't a meal that was her dentures slipping lol

Hi anon, of course I'm still interested!! I'm actually in the process of doing some research about all this stuff, it's just taking a long time because I've been very busy lately, haha.

I can confirm that Dorothy understands (or, at least, knows, which is a slightly different thing imho) the names of foods in Italian, yeah! And those names are in Italian alright -- I actually don't recall any instance of Sophia talking in any Sicilian dialect (although, as I mentioned, I'm still researching).

The episode you're referring to is S6E23: Love For Sale. The whole dialogue is:

SOPHIA: I'm not happy with my zabagliones.

BLANCHE: Maybe you just need a push-up bra.

DOROTHY: Blanche, zabaglione is a traditional Italian dessert. It's my Uncle Angelo's favorite.

SOPHIA: Yeah, my brother. He's quite the scungiscoror-or-or.

DOROTHY: Even I don't know that one.

SOPHIA: That wasn't a word. My dentures slipped.

The Zabaione is, indeed, a traditional Italian dessert; it's a sort of sweet cream prepared with egg yolks, sugar, and sweet wine (you can find out more about it here). The way Sophia pronounces it, it sounds as if she's spelling it zabaglione, but that also makes sense from a linguistic POV, because many people (especially uneducated people from poor regions of Italy, like Sophia herself) do tend to spell it that way, to sort of 'overcorrect'.

The zabaione is supposed to have originated in Northern Italy (although the actual origin has been lost to time, unfortunately), but it's become common all over the peninsula, especially in places where they prepare famous sweet wines -- and wouldn't you know, Sicily has exactly the right place for the job! The wine they make in the city of Marsala is delicious and deliciously sweet at that (not to mention very well-known), so it's perfect to prepare the zabaione.

Digressions on Italian wine and desserts aside -- you're absolutely right, anon! Dorothy clearly knows what the zabaione is and acts as a translator for Blanche in this instance. I also recall her naming dishes by their Italian names in other instances, although I have my doubts about the recipes Sophia uses (she makes lasagne with marinara sauce...?). I'll be sure to include a full round-up of all the Italian food mentions I can find in the series in my deep dive!

[confessedlyfannish]

Writing Prompt #13

"So?" Red Hood asks, arms crossed. "Was I right?"

"Yes," Phantom says, deepening his voice, "this is one of mine."

"One of your what?" Robin growls. Nightwing's hand on his shoulder is the only thing keeping him from invading Phantom's personal space, which, please, continue to do so Mr. Nightwing, Sir.

Phantom would take a deep calming breath if a) he wasn't trying to appear as otherworldly as possible which means no human breathing and b) if that wouldn't so obviously telegraph how uncomfortable he is in the Batcave surrounded by the entire Batfamily.

Next to him Red Hood shifts in slight discomfort. His ties to the spectral realm mean he's picking up on Danny's unease even if he can't fully translate the feeling. Which is good. Danny needs to maintain what little control he has over this situation.

"There's a gh-spirit in my...realm," Phantom says, letting himself drift gently to the other side of Batman's medical table which just coincidentally puts more distance between him and the the rest of the clan staring him down. Black Bat leans forward and he violently suppresses a flinch. "They're known as Nocturne. They wield power over dreams. Their signature is all over this."

And Danny means that literally. Their ecto-signature couldn't be more apparent if they'd written it in sharpie across Batman's suit. This is what Jason—Red Hood, because Danny couldn't have been dealing with a simple civilian case of ecto-contamination, nooo, he's got to have connections to the superheroes Danny has spent the better part of his afterlife avoiding—managed to pick up on, even being the low level entity that he is.

At which point he'd called Phantom in, even though Danny had spent the better part of two weeks trying to intimidate the guy into never contacting him, Ruler of the Spirit Realm (lightning crash!), again, but here is his calling card just in case (thunder and creaking noises!!), but again, you should never use it unless things are very serious, OoOoOoOo~~~

Damn it. It's been like 10 days.

"So how do we fix it, Your, uh, Ghostliness?" Nightwing says, ducking his head in a sort of half-assed supplication when Phantom turns to him. Nightwing glances at Jason for affirmation who shrugs out of the corner of Danny's eye.

"Phantom is fine," Danny says, waving his hand and letting his upper lip curl in an expression of distaste. "Remember, it's like you're Vlad when Dad offers him a glass of eight dollar wine!" Jazz's voice reminds him. Robin growls lowly, likely meaning he's nailing it. He looks away dismissively ("Honestly, it's like you're Vlad, anytime, ever." Sam notes dryly) and thanks god he doesn't have a heart in this form because it would be beating so loud right now.

Beside him, Jason scratches compulsively at the back of his neck. Huh, his anxiety is manifesting physically as an itch. Good to know.

"You can't fix it," Phantom says. "I can."

"At what cost?" Red Robin asks. "Red Hood mentioned you'd want something in return?"

Frick. His other contingency to keep Jason from ever contacting him again. Phantom had lightly hinted his taste du jour was, uh, souls.

Something Red Hood has apparently let slip, because now Robin shakes off Nightwing's hand, puffs out his chest and declares "I will trade myself for my father's safe awakening, Spirit!"

The other members burst into denials which almost covers up Danny floating sharply back and saying "What? No!!!"

Key word: almost.

Danny coughs as they stare at him.

"That is to say, I have no desire for a child," he puts a bit of snarl into it, showing fang. The mood in the room plummets drastically as Nightwing gently grabs Robin by the arm and pulls him back to his side.

"We see," he says. He steps forward more assertively, placing himself in front of the others, all of which are now eying him warily. "Then, is there a gender you prefer?"

It takes a second to click in Danny's head and then he swings his head wildly away from his audience to hide his reaction, nausea and embarrassment turning his face bright green. "Fika Kristo," he mutters in Esperanto as quietly as he possibly can, pinching the bridge of his nose.

He gives himself a moment to settle and game plan before turning back around. "I have no desire for any of you, and it matters not. In this instance, a deal need not be struck. Nocturne is my subject, and they have done this without my permission." Danny blinks, eyes widening. "Not—not! that I would give them permission to do such a thing. In the first place. Ahem."

"Okay...so you'll do this for free?" Jason asks. "Seems like a bad business practice since you also fixed me up for nothing—"

"What he means to say, Your Majesty, Phantom, is thank you!" Signal says in a rush as Nightwing starts, "Wait, Hood, what do you mean—"

"Enough!" Phantom says loudly (nearby bats take off and Jason's itch migrates to his forearms) "I have little time," read: he has a test tomorrow and he's only one-third of the way through the study guide "And I grow tired of this...dilly-dally." Frick! Is that an old-timey word?

"Of course. Thank you again, Phantom." Nightwing says stiffly, eyes still narrowed in Hood's direction.

"Wait, sorry, Phantom, Majesty, I'm Spoiler by the way," the purple-caped vigilante Danny already knew was Spoiler says. "How do we keep this from happening again? To any of us? Is there a way to defeat this Nocturne?"

"Moreover, why Batman?" Red Robin asks. "Why would a spirit from another dimension want him asleep?"

Phantom sighs. "Nocturne was trying to send a message. To me. Through you," he says, nodding at Red Hood. "They...how do I put this. They like attention. Being the spirit of uh, dreaming, they don't receive that attention. And you were in my realms for quite some time. And they wanted...attention."

The lackluster explanation sits for a moment before "They were jealous? Of me?" Red Hood asks skeptically.

"It's more complicated than that. Your...physiology," Danny puts it as delicately as possible, watching regretfully when Red Hood still stiffens at the mention, "Is particular. You gather attention in our realm. And having my attention is...special. But not!" He says to the group at large, a touch panicked, "Romantic!"

Jesus, he's never gonna hear the end of this from the others.

"Anyway, I will ensure it does not happen again."

"By paying them attention," Spoiler says under her breath, wiggling her eyebrows at Black Bat, Red Robin shooting them both a glare. Nightwing ignores them in favor of staring at Red Hood and Phantom. Danny is unsure what Red Hood has disclosed about how he knows Danny, but now he feels confident the answer is close to nothing.

Before Nightwing can ask whatever uncomfortable thing he's about to ask, Phantom disappears. Invisibly, he hovers over Batman's sleeping body and silently apologizes for the intrusion before intangibly slipping into Batman's REM realm and finding the man...oh...

Probably thirty minutes later he reappears to the group, who all perk up at the sight of him. Their eyes bounce from him to Batman; who does not move, to the monitor; which shows no change in his brain activity.

"I'm going to need your help," Danny says to Jason, getting to the point.

"Why? What can I do?"

"It's easier if you come with me," Danny says, grabbing his arm.

"Come with—"

Danny wastes no time in turning them both invisible and flying them into Batman's mind.

"What the—" Red Hood twists and turns, taking in the hallways of the manor. From afar, they can hear the tinkling of a piano. "You, I had your word—"

"This isn't where you think it is," Danny says hurriedly. "We're in your—Batman's dream." He walks quickly down the hallway, towards the music. Jason follows.

"What?"

"The way to break a dream spell is to wake the dreamer. You can't do that externally so you do it internally. Usually you wake the dreamer by turning the dream into the nightmare, scaring them awake."

The hallway stretches on longer than realistic, the dream attempting to divert them. But it can't outrun Danny. His power seeps into the halls, ice creeping along the paneling and freezing the way behind them.

"Batman, however, is hard to scare."

"So you want me to do it."

"What? No." Phantom shoots him a confused look. "Why would I—Ahem, The other way is to convince the dreamer they are dreaming. They break the dream themselves."

"Alright..." Jason says slowly, now keeping pace with him. His breath forms a cloud as he speaks. "And you think I'm the person to do it? I'm not the one he listens to you know, that's more Nightwing's schtick, or hell, anyone other than me."

"This isn't just Batman's dream, Jason," he says. Hood's eyes narrow at his real name, but now the truth is necessary. "This is The Dream. The perfect life. Everything he could ever want."

They're approaching an opening on the right side of the corridor. A bright light emanates from it, alongside the noise of stumbling piano keys and laughter, deep and male and unrecognizable. The Dream.

"Thomas Wayne," Jason breathes. "You want me to convince Bruce it's worth walking away from the center of his universe? It'd be easier if I put a bullet in their chests."

Danny stops abruptly before the doorway, turning to face Jason.

"You know, I fixed you," he says, head cocked. "Those feelings you felt, you shouldn't be feeling them anymore."

"I...I don't."

"Then why do you act like it?" He lets himself drift up, reaching beyond their planes of existence and extending a metaphysical hand to Jason's spirit. It shivers away. "You don't have to hide behind what was."

"I'm not hiding! And I don't have to explain myself to you!" He tries to move forward but Danny puts a hand out and he cannot move past it. He growls in frustration.

"I'm grateful to you, but with or without the Pits I'm fucked up. This is just who I am. This is just what he made me."

"You've never asked why I look like this. But did you know my form is malleable?" Phantom says, letting his legs shift into a tail, letting two eyes become three. "What I believe is what I am."

And then he takes several steps back, putting the doorway between them. "From here on out, the Pits can't tell you how to think or feel. Your decisions are wholly your own. Starting with this one."

Jason stares at the doorway, then Danny.

"I won't make you," Danny says simply. "And if you desire, I will retrieve Nightwing instead."

Jason scratches at his arms, grits his teeth, and stomps through. The light resolves into the sitting room, massive windows letting in sunlight so bright it streaks yellow-white across the room. Bruce sits on the maroon versailles couch next to Cassandra, who sits cross legged, excitedly watching Alfred pour her a cup of tea. To their right, in the open space, Damian barks instructions at Tim on handling a katana. Stephanie and Duke sit on the ground besides the coffee table, homework sheets sprawled across the surface, suffering their way through a calculus problem.

Bruce, smiling softly, looks across the room to where the atrocious playing is coming from. Red Hood follows his gaze.

Sitting at the piano, trying to play while Dick distracts him with a pair of chopsticks, is Jason. He puts a hand on Dick's face and shoves, both of them hitting the wrong keys.

"Get—away—dumbass!"

"No, see, it's a duet! Jay!"

"That's not why it's named—" and Jason Todd-Wayne tips his white-tipped head back and laughs.

[yandere-daydreams]

tw - period kinks, controlling behavior, LOTS of menstrual blood, and geto suguru (just, like, in general).

might just be my deranged little brain acting up, but i think geto would go absolutely feral when you're on your period.

his taste buds are bound to be a little fucked up after multiple decades of choking down curses, so when he gets a taste of your heady, sweet-tinged blood, he treats it like a fine wine. you'll spend all week on your back, your legs thrown over his shoulders and his face buried between your thighs as he happily eats you out for hour after hour, a mix of blood and slick and saliva dripping down his chin as he lethargically sucks and licks you far past the point of overstimulation. if he can convince you to sit on his face (at least until the first time you lose consciousness), even better. if it was up to him, the world you just be you, him, and your sweet pussy.

medication and heating pads are withheld because he's 'just so worried about the side-effects :('. if you want something for your cramps, you're going to have to either sit in his lap and warm his cock like a good little acolyte or, better yet, let him pump some ribbed, pulsing toy into your cunt and watch as orgasm after orgasm melt away any pain you might've felt. any time you complain that you have things to do that don't involve him playing with your pussy, he'll offer to knock you up and make it so that you don't have to worry about your period for a whole nine months :) you tend not to complain, after that.

it doesn't matter whether or not you're tracking your cycle, he's got it memorized. when he's at his worst (which is almost always), he might even conveniently ""forget"" to restock your supplies. he just thinks it's so cute when you get all embarrassed and teary-eyed, your voice shaking and your hands kneading at your stomach as you reluctantly ask him to run such a personal errand for you. he will, obviously, he'd do anything you asked him to, but he will absolutely might just drag his feet, use your discomfort as an excuse to haul you into a hot bath - but not before he takes it upon himself to clean you up with his tongue, to massage your aching chest with his big, calloused hands. if you're sore and hypersensitive, even better. he might take an extra few minutes just to watch you squirm.

tldr; geto suguru has a menstrual blood fetish and he's going to make it your problem. thank you for coming to my ted talk etc. etc.

[mvltisstuff]

hi!! could you possibly do a one-shot with evan buckley where reader is having a horrible time and asks to come over but once they do they attempt to undress buck and have (ya know) with him but he realizes like right after his shirt was taken off that reader is trembling and shaking.

maybe it’s because of a fight with their sibling or something but it ends with him just holding them until they fall asleep and he’s all like “i’m gonna marry them.”

OFC you can take this into a whole different route!! thank you so much in advance!

in for it - e.b

summary: when y/n gets hot, and especially bothered, buck has to figure out why.

evan buckley x reader

a/n: hi!! again, so sorry for how delayed this is, but i hope its still enjoyed for those willing to read :))

buck and y/n had been texting all day, shooting each other suggestive messages and flirty little remarks. buck knew he was in for a treat when he got home, considering all of the bold things his girl had said to him throughout his shift.

however, that was not the case. when he returned home, he called out for y/n, but got no response. he got slightly worried, but y/n's a big girl, she knows what she's doing. he placed his bags down by the front door and pulled out his phone.

Hey, just got home. Everything good?

Yeah. I'm on my way home

he obviously believed her, he has no reason to not trust her. so, he took a beer out of the fridge and went to go sit on the couch and wait for her.

when he heard the doorknob twist, he got a familiar feeling of excitement he always knew when y/n would come home. he heard her kick her shoes off and throw her bag down. it sounded louder than normal, so she must've been really excited to come home to him.

when she came over, she threw her jacket on one of the chairs, leaving her in jeans and a white tank top. she looked as beautiful as always, never needing to dress up for buck because anything she wore was pure fashion in his eyes.

"hey, sexy," buck flirted as she walked over to him. she instantly grabbed his face, pulling his lips onto hers. he could smell the wine on her breath and the taste of it on her tongue. her hands wandered around his neck, slightly gripping onto it. he could feel her racing heart against his own chest, almost faster than he has ever felt it. "how were things at joes?"

her fingers quickly ran down to the hem of his t-shirt, tucking underneath and starting to pull it up. right before the fabric covered his eyes, he took note of y/n's red eyes and furrowed brows with her jaw tight. "fuck him." she spat out after his face was out. he looked her directly in the eyes as her hands continued to wander down to his crotch.

her fingers twitched against his belt as she struggled to unbuckle it, and her breath became more hitched. her face had not changed expression, like she only wanted to get this over with. when she would take her hands away, the only thing buck could notice was her shaking.

'wait, wait-" buck starts. "slow down for a sec."

"are you not hard?"

"well, i was, because im always hard with you, but not anymore. i can't be when you're so visibly upset."

"i'm not upset," she murmurs under her breath, down on her knees in front of him.

"and im not blind, baby," he grabs onto her side and pulls her onto his lap. "tell me whats wrong."

"he acts like i owe him everything. he acts like i do nothing for our parents and he doesn't even want me as his sister. why do i always have to make everyone happy?"

"but you need to be happy first."

"he doesn't care."

"is that an explanation for why you tried to suck me off while being so pissed?"

"i thought i'd start with making you happy," she tells. "and you love blowjobs."

buck chuckles while running a hand down her back. "but you make me the happiest. and he's a douche. you deserve more as a sister and a daughter."

y/n grins at him, her body starting to calm down against his. "thank you. you make me happy, too."

"of course, angel," buck leans back to get a better look at the beautiful girl on his lap. "we can keep going if you want, but you look tired."

"i am, but i want you to be satisfied."

"i will be fully satisfied taking you upstairs, getting changed, pouring us more wine, and laying with you all night."

"are you sure?"

"i will spend the rest of my life assuring you that that is all i ever need from you."

she places a more gently hand on his cheek, pecking him on the lips and pulling away with a smile. "i love you."

"i love you, too." he taps her hip with his finger. "now, go put on our show and change, and ill go get the pinot gris."

[gabessquishytum]

Vampires have taken over the world so everyone is a vampire. Except for 7 people. Now, that makes human blood incredibly rare, and of course, it's better than animal blood could ever be.

Vampire!Hob runs into a very pretty, pale vampire who is all ghotic and emo. Human!Dream has no idea how his new boyfriend hasn't figured out that he's human yet, but he's glad that for the first time, someone wants him for him and not for his rare blood.

- 🚒

(Bonus: Hob brings Dream the best, tastiest animals he can find to spoil him, and Dream has to figure out a good way of corpse disposal because the situation in his freezer is getting ridiculous.)

ASKDJFGJSJA I love this bc it's like a reverse on the usual vampire tropes, and also the idea that Dream just looks so fucking vampiric, no one would ever suspect him of being human!

Now, it is technically possible for vampires to drink from each other. But they have far less blood than humans, and it also just tastes really bad. So although Dream is sooo horny about Hob’s fangs and really wants to be bitten, he knows that Hob will never do it. So he has to resort to staring at Hob’s fangs and furiously wanking about it later. The fangs are just so sharp and shiney and Dream wants. Whenever he sees Hob snacking on one of those fresh carcasses, Dream can't help himself - he gets hard. And to think, he used to be a vegetarian!

Hob is a very doting boyfriend so he's always concerned about Dream’s health and eating habits. Generally Dream can get away with drinking something like red wine and Hob will simply assume that it's blood. But Hob does worry about him. See, Dream’s got all these little physical quirks. His heart beats so fast (normal for a human, worrying for a vampire!) and although he's deathly pale, he does tend to flush red sometimes. Hob worries about him, tries to feed him up and pamper him. He just loves Dream so much!

Eventually the truth comes out and Hob is honestly relieved - he thought that Dream had some kind of disease, so learning that he's just human is really a weight off his mind. Hob promises there and then that he'll never bite Dream, but Dream actually disagrees. He obviously doesn't want to be drained or turned, but he doesn't mind if Hob just has a little nibble now and then.

So, Hob still gets to pamper Dream. He doesn't bring quite so much fresh meat, but he still encourages his beloved to eat an iron rich diet. Its important, if Hob is going to drink from him. And really... Hob is the one being pampered, when it comes to meals. Dream’s blood is like the finest cuisine. Hob is genuinely in ecstasies every time he's allowed to sink his fangs in. Honestly he acts a little drunk afterwards, which is surprisingly flattering for Dream.

Plus Dream's greatest fantasies are coming true, and he gets to ride on his boyfriend's wonderful thick cock while being equally penetrated by the fangs at his neck. No more hiding his arousal - he fully intends to show Hob exactly how much of a turn on his fangs really are...

One well fed vampire + one horny human = happily ever after <3

[terrifiedofconflict]

Thinking about my doomed to eternal life boys and how they choose to process the meaning of that. It all comes down to suffering vs. pleasure and how that defines the purpose of their endless lives.

Lestat: My hedonistic little good time boy. He's an artist. He's into the aesthetics. He's into art for art's sake so long as you don't fuck up the music notes. Did him and Oscar Wilde make hang out? Bc they would have loved each other. I mean unless Oscar wanted to talk to him about books beyond the first 10 pages. Lestat does not believe in God or the devil, heaven, or hell. Did he actually want to be a priest or did he just love the art of theology and poetry? And did he actually stop believing in God, or did he view God as another lover/family member that abandoned him? Obviously sex and death aren't actually enough for him. He longs for companionship, which he isn't shy about admitting, but he doesn't need to attribute some higher meaning for his or others' suffering. The purpose of life is meant to be enjoyed, and it doesn't need to be more complicated than that at least until the next manic depressive episode.

Louis: The Switch. He carries the responsibility of the eldest son, but ironically, his work is to provide hedonistic pleasure for others. He grew up religious; he's repressed his sexuality and desires, and his idea of fun is being good at capitalism. There are times when Lestat brings out a different side to him, takes him to the opera, takes him wine (blood) tasting, etc. and he gets a glimpse of how he can simply embrace his desires. Giving into his desires whether that's gay sex, murder, or other typical Friday night activities, sends him into a shame spiral. He inevitably feels called to have a higher purpose. It starts with becoming (even more) financially successful, then "hey, maybe I should kill people who deserve it," then vampire vegetarianism, then fatherhood, then photography which pretty quickly stops being a personal hobby and transforms into art dealing (he is such a little capitalist), and on and on. It's one identity crisis after another. The carousel comes around again. It's responsibility and a need for a higher purpose at odds with his more selfish desires.

Armand: Do we even need to say it? Put this doe eyed masochist next to the definition of suffering. Suffering just HAS to have a purpose. IT BETTER HAVE A PURPOSE. Suffering must be necessary and evidence of divine plans, or else, did he just experience it for nothing? My big eyed murder baby loves a cult. He needs that religious reassurance. If there is no point, then was he just trafficked by his parents bc the world is meaningless and cruel? There have to be rules, and they have to be followed or else gremlin chaos must ensue.

(I want to say more about him but I haven't read the books yet and the show hasn't shown us much of how he really feels/his actual backstory, but I very much NEED an Armand season bc I'm a little bit obsessed with his whole weird little deal.)

I'm curious to hear takes from folks who read the books or people who have no interest in reading like my girl Lestat!

[husbandohunter]

hello!! this is my first time requesting something ever so if i did something wrong im so sorry 😭

but i’d really like to request something with xiao where reader really wants to go to the festival with him but obviously he can’t/doesn’t want to so he rejects them :’) and reader ends up not going and just watches the fireworks alone from afar untilllll xiao comes and sits next to them and it’s just the two of them enjoying each other’s company 🙊🙊 and maybe like an angst to fluff/comfort typa moment

idk idk AHH if u aren’t comfy writing that it’s all good! this scenario just been stuck in my head for a while.

The Lights Bring me to my Qixin [Xiao x Reader]

Synopsis: He was hard to love, you were easy to love

Genre: angst/comfort, gender neutral reader, You fell first but Xiao fell harder and I WILL DIE ON THIS HILL!!

(A/n): tldr; Xiao needs to love himself 😤 also I'm so sorry it took this long anon. And you didn't do anything wrong! Thank you for sucha cute prompt :)

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

Xiao materializes himself on a bridge, a gust of wind fading beneath his feet. He doesn't move for a certain time, standing still as if he had no presence and just stares quietly. Only the moon was present tonight. No stars. A lone glow emitted right above where he remained and briefly he imagined, there was something melancholic about it. How the scenery made the lights in Liyue Harbor more apparent.

You would have loved to see this.

The adeptus recoils immediately and shakes away from those impending thoughts. No, he musn't dwell too much. He already made his decision. When you asked him to spend the lantern rite together, a voice inside his head acted before he even realized.

"No."

That was what he told you. It came out far more blunt than intended, followed by the poor choice of teleporting away. The pain on your face was something Xiao didn't want to think about. Because to him, you were like the city he gazed upon. Best admired from a distance. What affected the adeptus at the cost of what he wanted didn't matter.

His heart tightens. It's better this way.

"Why hello there! Care to join me for a drink this fine evening?"

Xiao spun around and saw Venti crouched on the handle while holding out a ceramic cup. Was he there the whole time or had his senses been dulled? It was hard to tell coming from an Archon.

Normally, he would refuse just as he would with anybody. But a part of him wanted to. Part of him wanted something that would help him take off his mind from those bothering emotions.

The two anemo users share a glass of rice wine pudding under the sky. Venti downs his fourth drink and Xiao glances at the watery reflection held by the glossy rim.

"If I recall, festivals are meant to be celebrated with wine and laughter. Maybe more of the former but it can't be complete without the other!" The bard cheers, his voice echoing around them, "Is the taste not to your liking?"

Xiao frowns, "No."

"No? Hmmm," Venti hums and taps his chin, "That's a shame. You were the second person who told me that."

As if he waited for Xiao to ask him who exactly, Venti proceeded to answer anyways, "As a travelling bard, I like to spread tales of heroic stories far and wide. Just so happened I landed a spot at the Teahouse yesterday. This good fellow sat in a corner, not even reacting to a single word I spoke, hmph!"

The teahouse? Wasn't that the place you always told him about? Repeating exaggerated stories about the mighty Yakshas who fought beside Rex Lapis during the Archon war?

"Ridiculous. Adepti cannot transform to anything but what they're already given. Mortal imagination are incomprehensible these days."

"Though you gotta admit, Bosacious with a serpent guardian sounds pretty cool...hold on, are you...laughing?"

"...Ridiculous."

"Did they say anything in particular?"

"Let me think, aha!" The bard snaps his fingers and looks upwards, "They said my interpretation of the story brought back good memories. That it reminded them of someone, which, they didn't tell me the name. But poor thing looked as if they were about to cry."

"...I see," he downs the drink in one gulp.

"Not even curious about who this mysterious person may be?" Venti insisted.

The adeptus huffs quietly and turns his head, "I have no recollection of such events. I must have mistakened them for someone else."

That's right. Whether you were happy or sad doesn't affect him in any way. Xiao knew where he stood. Karmic debt was a heavy burden to bear, it could be contagious and destructive if he wasn't too careful. Although you didn't like whenever he mentioned this, he truly believed that soon the curse will consume him completely. The yaksha's sole duty exists primarily for Liyue and to serve Rex Lapis whenever needed. Everything else becomes insignificant.

It's better this way. Xiao tells himself again. Mortal desires have no substance to him and neither does his own. I really don't care.

Settling down the glass, the adeptus walks toward the opposite direction, his back facing Venti away from the Harbor they watched.

"Leaving just when the celebration started? Someone's in a hurry," Venti chirped.

Xiao looks with downcasted eyes, stopping right at the edge. The trees rustle and a soft breeze picks up, brushing against his skin. It was colder now.

"Sorry," he breathes out, "Tonight, I just want to rest."

•••

You headed home through your usual route, sword in hand, except now there were no monsters to be dealt with.

How strange. Surely the landlord didn't suddenly commission members from the adventurer's guild, at least not regularly. It had been reoccuring for the past couple of days. Hilichurl masks sprawl across the field and whoever left this mess surely wasn't the type to play gently. Judging by how it looks, they were probably an aggressive fighter. A very powerful and aggressive fighter.

"Totally not complaining, though..." you mumbled, still perplex. It would be nice to know who did all this.

...

Xiao pierces the eye of a ruin guard and grunts as he retrieved his spear forcefully.

Just how many lives does he need to keep taking until he can finally rest? The question occasionally pops into his mind. Though seeing that he was fighting another day is proof enough. These hands were meant for war and destruction. Whatever comes near him, whatever he touches, would wither like a Qixin affected by poison.

When Rex Lapis appointed him, the adeptus said to be treated at his disposal. Xiao was a tool for battle. An extension of his blade and a mind equivalent to the vigor of any weapon. If he was ordered to throw his life away by facing the gods of Celestia, then there would be no hesitation.

But really, Xiao was more of a shield than a blade. He took every blow without complaining and did so for many years. Even if his achievements resulted in no glory, Xiao would remain in the shadows, exactly where he belongs. Just as you would one day come to hate him for hurting you that day, despise him for his silence, and see him as untrustworthy, Xiao would never leave his post. Because...that was his duty. The guardian yaksha.

Yes he'd rather had you hate him. Yes, he distanced himself without explanation and left things unsaid in more instances than one. Yes, it was better this way.

What am I even doing?

Regardless, in this year's lantern rite, he wanted you to enjoy the festival as you did the last. It was the least he could do. Xiao thought by eliminating the monsters that crowded your path would somehow alleviate the trouble he had caused. So he tosses blow after blow, harder than the last, trying to eradicate that pain and these unecessary emotions.

And right before the final strike, he stops. Within the adeptus a Qixin flower sprouted alone amongst the depths of his withered heart. Something that had already been planted during last year's lantern rite. Xiao made his decision. But he hesitated, unable to gather the strength and remove the thorn that bothered him incessantly.

"Adeptus Xiao."

The yaksha's breath races. Your voice. Thankfully he didn't sense any danger and concluded you made your way home safely. Did you eat yet? What were you doing out this late? Xiao waits and listens, once more, watching from a distance.

"Nevermind. I just missed saying your name, that's all."

The hard line of his mouth opens halfway as he tried not to make a single sound. He camaflouges himself among the trees, your back in his view while you hugged your knees close. Xiao leans against the bark, a shadow casting over his features.

He really shouldn't be here. An adeptus has no right to traverse into the realm he does not belong in. Xiao knows better than anyone exactly how the events will turn out between god and humanity. Like dark and light, made to balance the other, but too close would result in one's destruction, and the thought of that terrifies him to the core.

"I wonder if I said something wrong back then," you softly said, "He always did how much of a nag I could be. What if he...was fed up with everything I did...?"

Xiao caught his breath on hold, almost saying something he shouldn't. That's not true! Those words are clawing on his throat. You have no idea how hard it was for him to reject you over and over again. He pushed you away because he was afraid he would hurt you in more ways than one. Do you realize these feelings have been torturing him? Seeing you hurt, on the verge of tears, why can't you just understand that all he wanted was for you to be happy?

"I'm sorry. I had no idea that my actions affected you so much."

Yes. Yes they have, and he was forever grateful for it.

"Are you...happier though? If you're out there."

Silence passes through between the mortal and yaksha, accompanied by the chilly touch of a sky's breathly sigh. Bright rays thinned across the plains built upon Wuwang hills as the sun sets and around your small form. A golden reflection mirrored in the adpetus' eyes. 

He could never.

You hear a thump and the sound of leaves falling down as Xiao unmounted himself from the branches. Seeing him was like a dream, you hardly believed it was real. The man wore an unreadable expression, often carrying the hard edge in every part of his features. However perhaps it was the sunset which hindered your perception. There was something different this time, something you haven't seen before and you were oblivious to.

"You called?"

Even until now the shock hasn't left you completely and you struggled on what to do next, "I did, but," still seated where you were previously, you dared not to blink, "Why are you here?"

Xiao casted his gaze to the side as if unable to look at you any longer, "I should be asking you that question. Didn't you want to see the lantern rite?"

What a silly statement. Of course you wanted to watch the lanterns, and most of all, with him by your side.

You stood up and dusted the grass of your sides, "It's not the same without you, Xiao."

"They're just lights," he dismisses.

"Yeah, now that you mention it, there really are just a bunch of floating lanterns," you shrugged your shoulders, "But not for me. When my siblings passed away, I thought nothing would ever be the same again. We used to make lanterns every year. I didn't have the courage to do them on my own because I just thought there was no point."

For the first time in a while, Xiao stays instead of leaving, "Is that so?"

The adeptus has observed the changes Liyue had gone through. If there is one thing in this world which can carve the core of every human, it was loss. He has known many who were victims to it or were the cause of each grief. An emotion that can warp a man, to something more darker, more distant.

"I was right. Things won't be the same," you parroted, yet grinning from ear to ear, "When we watched the festival with you last year, I realized just because you've lost something good doesn't necissarily mean you won't find it again."

"Don't ever change," his gaze on you was softer now.

"I didn't but you did," stomping up to him, you puffed out your cheeks with an angry look, "What has gotten into you? If I did something to upsetting, don't just get up and leave me hanging! Here I thought I made you so angry which caused you to he in a bad mood around everyone else."

"I-- I apologize..." Xiao nears himself to you, little by little, he examines your countenance, "It wasn't my intention."

"I was worried, you know?"

Although you were showing signs of relief, you continued to bring forth your hands and wipe away the tears building up at the corner of your eyes. What an emotional creature. His Qixin. While you slowly recovered, Xiao waits patiently, with every passing moment filling his withered heart. And then things became clear to him.

It was impossible for the adeptus to severe his bond with this human.

"You can be such a fool sometimes," you meekly stated, sniffling from the cold, "The worry you cause others. Always putting up a mask when you obviously don't want to."

"I know."

"And going off on your own without considering how they feel."

"I know."

He wasn't going to argue against your words and admittedly, well deserved. You let out a breath and the two of you stayed there in comfortable nothingness. No exchanges but the gap mended itself somehow. Xiao hadn't moved all that much even when you were in arm's reach. This man was always so careful and you knew he wouldn't hurt anyone out of his own selflessness.

You took a hold of both his hands and brought them to your face.

"What are you doing?" Xiao retorts, desperately, "You can't touch me."

The nudge indicates that he wanted to pull away, but when you squeezed them a little tighter, his tugs have grown weaker.

"You're saying they do nothing but kill and destroy," whispering, you closed your eyes and reveled in his warmth, "They're rough from years of use but so soft. I can't help think about those horrible things you said about yourself, weren't true at all."

Xiao feels as if he was being washed away in a current he couldn't control. It brings him from his own sense, watching you fondly speak of him with words he didn't think was very fitting. Not a single drop of urge from the adeptus wanted to remove your touch. Like water to the Qixin growing in his heart, a healing balm to his tattered soul, he revels in it.

"Stay with me," you whispered.

How could he refuse?

In the sky, a thousand lanterns lit up among the stars. Xiao wonders to himself, if it would be selfish for an adeptus to dwell in human feelings. The battles he fought over a milennia was enough to make him solidify his identity as a warrior. Yet the new emotions he have come across, Xiao doesn't know when he will ever have the courage to give it a name.

Time. He has plenty.

Whatever the future may bring, Xiao will accept it as long as he can see you flourish into the beautiful Qixin he'd come to cherish.

[clickoly]

(super late) @oknutzy-week-2024 Day 5!

Thank you for the fantastic prompts and the amazing fest. And, of course, thank you to @lumosinlove for these wonderful characters.

Here’s the fifth part of Starboys, a Cubs Formula One AU.

Prompts: Party, Surprise visit

Links to: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Ao3

•••

Down for the ride

Leo had lost count of the number of planes he’d taken in the past months, always on the run for any opportunity to fly home to his family, or just to follow the team around. But it was never on a private jet—much to the dismay of his miles-long legs—or with such good company.

According to the radar on screen, they were flying over Kuala Lumpur. A quick look out the window took Leo's breath away, stunned by the still disbelieving feeling of being on top of the world, with the sun sinking behind an endless field of cottony clouds. 

It looked like the sunset in Milan had a couple of weeks earlier—warm and magical—from a terrace overlooking the skyline of an already quiet city. That night, they were supposed to attend the annual party in Monza after the Italian Grand Prix, but Logan had come up with a better plan to celebrate his victory, and perhaps to cheer Finn up a bit. 

They had ended up in the fanciest bar Leo had ever set foot in, tucked away at a table out of sight, bathed in the late summer breeze that pleasantly cooled the open space. Leo had felt pampered and maybe out of place, but never within their conversations and their warm smiles. Not with Logan reassuring him that he deserved all that and more, nor with Finn making him feel freer than ever before, in a way he’d never experienced with someone he barely knew.

Finn O’Hara, whose Italian was fluent enough to order the finest wines Leo had ever tasted, and to chat casually with a group of fans they had run into—who had also congratulated Logan and Leo on the good race.

Finn, who was now relaxed in the chair opposite him, obviously lost in the pages of his book, barely moving from time to time, except to push his glasses up his freckled nose.  

When Leo glanced at him furtively, their eyes met, and so did their smiles.

"Everything okay?" Finn said.

Leo tilted his head and peeked across the aisle at Logan. "Does he always sleep this much?"

Logan was wrapped in a very warm looking blanket, long since fallen into a deep sleep. Finn's laugh was teasing, but he was looking at Logan with nothing but affection. 

Leo had seen that look before. Never in public, where insatiable eyes were constantly on the hunt—for an autograph, a selfie in the best case, otherwise ready to catch a breaking scoop. It had been there the night before, back in Leo's humble apartment, where they had all sheltered after an exhausting day at the Silver factory.

I'll get something good for dinner, Finn had offered. I got you.

Leo had seen Finn wearing new shades of that lopsided smile, so private, something he probably kept to himself and the few he trusted. How he got lucky enough to witness it, Leo couldn't say.

"Rarely," Finn answered his question. "We usually have very strict routines for flights like this one, so we don't get jet lagged."

"And which one of you is breaking the rules today?"

Finn pointed a finger in Logan's direction. "The baby will get all grumpy at the party if he doesn't nap." 

That made Leo giggle, but then something urgent and completely unrelated came out of his mouth. "Thank you, Harzy."

Finn's face lost its playfulness, but it was nonetheless bright when he hummed questioningly.

"I don't know..." Leo laughed softly. "I'm just... happy. Yeah. Glad I met you two."

Leo didn't know what surprised him more. He had imagined Finn making a joke, telling him that he was being silly. He certainly hadn't expected to see him still, his cheeks turning a soft shade of pink as he tried to mouth words he apparently couldn't let go of.

"Oh boy," Leo's jaw dropped. He raised an eyebrow at Finn's flattered look. "Did I just leave Finn O'Hara speechless?"

Silently, Finn closed his book and sat up straighter, shaking his head dramatically. "Nutty, Nutty, Nutty..."

"That's me."

Finn leaned his elbows on the tray table between them, his brown eyes—beautifully bruising—locked with Leo's blue. "There's no way you can shut me up," he said, dead serious. "You'll never stand a chance."

"Is that a challenge?" Leo bit back.

Finn shot him a sly wink, "Please, be my guest."

Leo didn't miss a beat. He mirrored his position, dizzy head supported by his hands, impossibly close to Finn's impassive face. 

Could Finn see his fast pulse pounding hard against his throat or was it just a feeling? 

"Looking forward to it, O'Hara.”

A moment passed, filled only by the insistent roar of the plane's engines. And then they burst out laughing, so uncontrollably that Leo had to wipe tears from his own eyes as he leaned back in the seat. He watched as Finn muffled his loud laughter behind big, strong hands, shoulders still shaking as he tried to control himself.  

"What the hell are you laughing at?" a sleepy voice grumbled, and a flying pillow hit Leo's head. 

"Ouch," Leo laughed louder. 

Logan groaned from where he was propped on one forearm, his dark curls a mess, glaring at them with just one half-open eye. "Weirdos." 

"C'mon Sleeping Beauty." Finn reached out to grab the pillow from Leo's lap and tossed it back to Logan. "It's almost time for Nut's first night out in Singapore." 

It was another one of Leo's dreams to cross off the list.

In less than an hour, he'd be wandering the busy streets of Marina Bay, the same ones that once a year were transformed into a spectacular circuit—probably Leo's favorite on the calendar.

It was captivating in so many ways. The race was held at night, on a track that wound its way through downtown Singapore with a combination of low and high speed corners, making it one of the most twisty and challenging for the drivers—and exciting for the spectators to watch.

Leo wondered if it would look like it did on TV, a spectacle of lights from the city skyline and the circuit itself, painting a stunning backdrop against the dark sky.

"Oh sweetheart," Eloise Knut cooed over the phone. "I bet it's going to be even better than you ever imagined. I'm so proud of you."

Leo's lips curled into a smile, pure and wistful. "Wish you were here."

"We miss you too, honey," she said softly. "Time’s not moving fast enough. How long till Austin? Two weeks?"

"Yeah," the excitement in her voice made Leo laugh. "I can't wait."

"Ready for tonight?" his dad nearly shouted. Leo could picture them sitting together at the kitchen counter, the phone on speaker at full volume.

"I think so." Leo gazed at himself in the mirror of his hotel room. Unruly curls aside—still drying after a much-needed shower—Leo thought he looked good. He ran a hand down the silky white button-down, tucked neatly into his tailored navy pants. The sleeves were loose on his wrists, and Leo reached down to button the cuffs, cradling the phone between his ear and shoulder to free his hands. "I'm just waiting for Logan to text me when he's ready."

"Logan, as in... Logan Tremblay," Eloise guessed.

Leo felt caught off guard. "Yes?"

There was a pause. "Huh."

"What?" Leo crouched down near the suitcase to find the bow tie. 

"Oh, nothing," she said casually. "Nothing, sweetheart."

"Mama."

"Have fun tonight," Eloise subtly avoided the topic. "And send me some pictures!"

Leo's deep sigh was a bit exasperated. He had told them everything about the last few weeks, about having Finn and Logan over for dinner. He had been thrilled to even say out loud that he had friends he felt he could trust, and talk to endlessly. But something in that huh hinted that she had clearly sensed more than that.

"I love you both." He let it all slide. It wasn't the right time, and frankly, he wasn't even sure what to say. "I'll call you soon."

–

Singapore Airlines was hosting an exclusive Grand Prix opening party. Big sponsors usually meant big events, and people were already speculating about all kinds of crazy things online.

"Marketing strategies," Logan explained. They stepped out of his car, provided by the team for the week—a recently released gem from Silver Motors, artfully customized in matte green to match the colors of Logan's racing helmet. With a quick smile and a confident nod, Logan handed the keys to the valet and led Leo to the grand entrance of the venue. "It's basically a business meeting," he said. "A shit ton of handshakes, pictures for the print..."

"Yeah, with an open bar, tremendous food, music and friends..." Leo scoffed. "It can't be that awful."

Logan was about to reply when he froze on the spot. A redhead, who Leo swore looked like Finn, was walking toward them, arm in arm with a girl. Bronze skin, chocolate brown waves tied up perfectly in a high ponytail. Leo knew it when she was close enough, as thick, long lashes fluttered open to reveal emerald green eyes. Logan's.

"Ugh, the enemies are here," the man's snarky remark was punctuated by a familiar grin, earning him a quick slap on the shoulder from his companion.  

"That's my little brother you're talking about, O'Hara."

Her accent, also Logan's.

"Okay, what's going on?" Logan huffed an incredulous laugh.

"Salut," the girl leaned forward to press a tender kiss to Logan's cheek before holding out her hand to Leo. "We finally meet," she said warmly. "I'm Noelle, Logan's–"

"Sister, yeah," Leo laughed bashfully. "Leo Knut, it's a pleasure to meet you." Leo's gaze shifted to a stubbled, freckled face and golden brown eyes. "And you must be..."

"Alex," the redhead shook his hand firmly. "I'm the better-looking O'Hara."

Well… Not exactly true, Leo thought. But he clearly had a point.

"What are you doing here?" Logan playfully shoved Alex. "Why didn't you tell us you were coming?"

"Supportive sibling duties, Tremblay," Alex threw an arm around Logan's shoulder. "And we haven't been to a race together in ages."

That made Logan smile. "What about the tickets? How did you–"

"Celeste," Noelle said as if it meant something obvious. "She arranged everything, of course. It was very short notice, and we thought..." She and Alex exchanged a meaningful look. "We thought we should make it a surprise."

Leo watched Alex's jaw clench, a hard, bitter bite on the inside of his cheek. He swallowed hard before asking, "Where's Fish?"

"He just texted me," Logan put his phone back in his pocket. "He's waiting inside." 

Finn's expression was priceless when they found him. He broke off his conversation with James and his wife Lily mid-sentence and, in the blink of an eye, his eyebrows knitted together, a gleaming grin spread across his face, eyes wide, and then his lips quivered slightly as he all but threw himself into his brother's waiting arms. A couple of flashes lit up the dim room, greedily capturing the moment.

They got less than ten minutes of peace before a woman in a fitted black jumpsuit and high heels came to fetch Logan and Finn, asking for a quick interview with a representative from Richard Mille, one of the few sponsors they shared.

Leo looked between Alex and Noelle and smiled nervously. He wasn't sure what to do, he didn't want to be rude. Was he intruding? He probably should have left them alone.

But Alex wouldn't let him.

"The man of the moment," he said, placing a firm hand on Leo's shoulder. "Let's get something to drink, shall we?" 

Soft jazz and low yellow lights warmed the ambience. Waiters danced around groups of chatting people, flawlessly carrying full trays of gold-filled crystal glasses. 

Smooth tequila burned its way down Leo's throat. The zesty smell of lime and the rough grains of salt between his lips brought back bittersweet memories of fading tastes on his mouth that Leo rushed to wash away with another swig of his Margarita. 

When, when, when would he finally let it go? 

Meet me later, Le?

Alex and Noelle sat on the L-shaped couch across from him. They both looked stunning, Alex in his dark blue suit, tie already gone, and Noelle in a white halterneck dress that made her tan skin glow. Straight out of a James Bond movie, the two of them. And Leo didn't quite know what to do with himself. 

"Okay, I'm gonna tell you this in confidence," Alex began. "I know I'm supposed to be on the other team's side, but..." He sipped at his whiskey, dark and neat, and leaned forward to put the glass back on the small marble table between them. "That call in Monza? Fucking amazing, man."  

"Mhm," Noelle agreed. She nodded over the rim of her glass of sparkling wine. "And how you managed to get Lolo to listen to you, now that I'd really like to know." 

"He's got a reputation, huh?" Lolo. Leo couldn't help but laugh, face burning, remembering all the times he'd heard Logan's voice on TV, the scratchy team radios, making it a point to show his disagreement with any team strategy he didn't approve of. 

"You bet," a wry grin curled her full, red lips.

"You work in motorsports too, right?" Leo asked Alex. He was pretty sure he'd read his name on some article about the recent 24 Hours of Le Mans. "How come you chose the WEC instead of Formula One?" 

"Oh, y'know..." Alex breathed out a weak laugh, eyes dark, just as Noelle turned to look at him. "Right opportunity at the right time," he smiled at Leo. "Fish always insists, but... Maybe someday. For now, I enjoy being able to sleep in my bed for more than a week a month." 

Curiosity got the better of Leo, and the three of them ended up discussing the ins and outs of the World Endurance Championship, getting fascinating insights from the perspective of a front-page journalist. Alex seemed as caught up in the conversation as Leo was, telling him stories about his experiences in a way that reminded Leo of Finn, ever so enthusiastic when talking about something he loved.

Leo sank into their tales, too distracted to notice two blond heads moving in their direction. He caught Natalie's smirk just as she stood two steps away from the couch, behind Alex's back. 

"So you actually listen to me, Freckle," she said as she reached out to pinch at Alex's waist. "I told you that blue would suit–" 

Alex turned and Natalie went pale. 

"...you. Jesus Christ." Her eyes widened comically, and a dark flush quickly spread from her cheeks down to her bare collarbones. She blinked twice, lips moving tentatively, until she called out in a barely there voice to Kasey, who was behind her, biting his bottom lip to suppress a full blown laugh. "Babe?" 

Alex stared at her, suddenly speechless. Noelle had her eyes on Kasey, her mouth drawn into a thin line. 

"Yes?" Kasey managed. 

"There's two of them." 

Kasey let himself laugh. "Just the wrong O'Hara, hon." The tension of the moment broke when Alex let out an amused laugh that was impossible to resist. He stood, holding out his hand to squeeze hers, and properly introduced himself. 

Then, one in front of the other, Alex and Kasey hesitated. Leo thought they looked lost, and perhaps a little scared. But when Kasey pulled Alex into a tight hug, Leo could read the words you came on Kasey's trembling lips. 

–

It was a roller coaster of emotions. A whole new beginning, new people, possibilities, discoveries. And now this. 

Two sets of beautiful eyes stood out in the crowd, scanning every corner of the room until they found the source of their beaming grins. Two souls forever tied together, impossibly kind, generous. Surreal. 

They moved in sync, elegantly, sharing a swift glance that spoke volumes. And then they were there, right in front of Leo. Strong shoulders pressed together, shiny black and dark green fabrics shimmering in the low light. Surreal.

Having fun without us, Nut?

The music grew louder, people began to move to the improvised dance floor—Alex, Natalie, and Kasey; Remus and Lily; Noelle with a rather flattered Thomas Walker—and Leo felt his world stop, a sudden brake in the middle of a high-speed ride.

Leo wanted to know what analytical, practical or rational thought could explain what was happening to him.

Why did everything feel so easy with those two?

A hard-earned life made of numbers, methodical strategies, and considered decisions, cautious. And now something unknown was pushing Leo to his limits.

"So," he managed to say. "What do you guys feel like?"

Another look, another unspoken agreement. Finn lit up in ten different shades of charm, his signature smirk on his lips, and pressed one hand on Leo's back, the other on Logan's.

Leo had promised himself that he would be careful. He needed things to be under his full control this time.

But there it was, the fire, the rush of adrenaline. This new feeling of sprinting through the narrowest streets at 150 miles per hour and not being in danger.

Leo looked between them, holding his breath.

"Let's go dance," Finn said, and Leo went, full throttle, because it felt right, and he wanted to trust himself more than anything else in the world. 

[lexosaurus]

ok for some tangential reason i was analyzing our character's fave wines tonight and welp here we go keep in mind this went through a VERY rigorous peer review process (the academic court of my opinion) so this should be 100% accurate.

jack and maddie both drink chardonnay, but jack likes his oaked and maddie likes hers unoaked. sorry but neither of them drink enough wine to have any preferences beyond this point

jazz: pinot grigio, easy. i feel like this whole family's a white wine family

danny: he's also a chardonnay bitch. he likes his mom's faves better but doesn't know why cuz he doesn't even know what "oaked vs unoaked" means. all he knows is that he doesn't like the taste of alcohol and unoaked chard tastes the most like water and that's why he'll drink it.

vladdy: he's a wine snob who drinks anything expensive (and pretends he can taste the difference between South African and French wines as if they're not both dry) but his fave is a dry cab. when he's out eating dinner with his business associates, he pretends to love those natural earthy wines, but he secretly almost always wishes he was drinking his basic (expensive) bottle of cab.

sam: pinot noir. she probs enjoys a good cab here and there tho

tucker: prosecco. obviously.

paulina and star: rosé girlies! star genuinely likes rosé the best (sparkling for her!), but paulina doesn't really care and only prefers it because it looks the cutest. she also has these adorable little wine glasses she got on a beach vacation she drinks it out of. sorry i dont make the rules.

dash: a sav blanc bitch but he won't admit it. wine is "for girls" and he only drinks beer in front of the other guys. meanwhile, kwan's enjoying his bubbly rosé with star in the corner.

lancer: depends on the season and what food he's pairing it with. if it's winter, he drinks more chianti and pinot noir, and if it's summer, he drinks more chard and pinot grigio. but i think ultimately, he prefers the pinot grigio.

ok that's all i got. hope this was an educational experience for u. 🙏

[sweetmariihs2]

Drunk Cedric headcanons 🍺🪄

gif credit: @sofia-the-worst (i tried to find these gifs in the gif search FOR SO LONG that I just gave up and decided to give you the credits instead. I really hope you don't mind, because I even went through Google and the only good gifs that I could find were yours)

TW: alcohol consumption (obviously), mentions of throwing up.

I already mentioned this in my Cedric Headcanons post, but Cedric hates to get drunk. He avoids it because he doesn't feel comfortable knowing that he's not sober and can't control his own actions (or he can make a fool out of himself in front of everyone, say some stuff that he shouldn't have said, and only know about this later on, when he's sober again)

"I already embarass myself on a daily basis being sober, imagine what would happen if I got drunk" — that's his opinion on the subject. What if it gets worse that that? What if he tells everyone about his plan to take over the kingdom, steal the Amulet of Avalor, or even saying bad stuff about the king or his job? He would die if that happened because of his irresponsability

Besides that, he doesn't like alcohol very much, he never did. His first experience with drinking alcohol was terrible, he found the taste horrible, it was weird, bitter and sour at the same time, and his throat felt like it was on fire. It was absolutely disgusting, and he wondered how people enjoy drinking so much. And the smell was bad. As far as he knew, drunk men were unpleasant to be around, he only saw disadvantages in it. Of course, he was in his early 20s at that time. His first drink was already a strong one, so that's why he hated it so much.

His opinion didn't change a lot though. As time passed, he tried other drinks in different occasions, such as beer, vodka and the most tolerable in his opinion, wine. Actually he does like wine, the one's that aren't so bitter (I don't know anything about wine, and I suppose he doesn't too), but as I said he doesn't drink it too often, only in special occasions, and he avoids doing it in special occasions to.

Cedric has a low tolerance to alcohol because he doesn't drink often, so when he does, he needs to be really careful.

Actually, he can count on his fingers how many times he got drunk in his life. One time was when he was pressured to do it (maybe in a party with his Hexley Hall coleagues to remember the old times, and this happened), the other one was when he got too distracted with the wine and unfortunately drank too much, maybe there were more occasions.

And one time he got heartbroken so bad that he just decided to believe the rumors of people saying that alcohol helps heartaches, so he kinda "forced" himself to do it, because the drinks tasted so bad that his face contorted in disgust and he grunted to try to swallow, followed by coughing soon after. It went like this for some time until he started to get really drunk and get temporarily used to the feeling (and his senses started to get numb). It was probably at a ball or another kind of royal party, but they had a bar there.

He doesn't remember most of that night, because of how bad he got. Thank God he was accompanied so someone took him to his tower, maybe Baileywick or even Roland himself, and told him what happened. He cried leaning on the table, spoke about his feelings and his terrible heartbreak situation, suddently started shouting about his frustration and even slammed his hands on the table several times, asked for more drinks. Maybe Baileywick tried to advise him to stop the drinking for the night, that this was more than enough, and Cedric shouted "No! You don't know how bad I'm feeling right now. There is such a pain in my chest and there is nothing I can do that can make me feel better. Don't tell me what do to because I know how bad I'm hurting, now leave me alone. Barman, give me another shot!"

Baileywick didn't know how to stop him so he just went to do his tasks at the party, hoping that Cedric didn't got worse than that (he knew that he would). He told Roland about the situation so that he would be aware. It was only when Cedric started to cry out loud and lose his robe, bowtie and even his wand all over the place that Roland decided to intervene the situation. The king had a lot to do in today's party, everyone's eyes were glued to him all the time so he couldn't stop his tasks to convince Cedric to stop drinking, but when the thing got bad, he got worried and decided it was time to help his longtime friend. As always, Cedric's mistakes were getting too much attention, and unfortunately he wasn't helping himself shouting and crying about how bad his life was.

Roland got all his items back and went to get Cedric out of that bar counter. At first they had a small conversation and Roland didn't think twice about holding him to give Cedric a little back of support, saying "Cedric, I think you've already had enough for tonight, I've never seen you like this. C'mon, I think it's time to head up to your tower." and Cedric tried to protest by grumbling "No! Take your hands off of me Roland, I can take care of myself!" But Roland didn't let him go and just responded with "Of course you can. Now let's go, you need some rest.", before carrying him by the shoulder through the whole castle until they got to his room and laid him on the bed, where he immediately fell asleep.

The next day, he woke up with an horrible headache and even threw up. Baileywick told him about his situation and Cedric got terribly embarassed of himself, worried about what everyone was thinking of him now. Baileywick told him about his attempt to stop Cedric, and also that Roland brought him back to his tower and got his belongings back, which were next to him on the bedside table. He couldn't believe that he got so drunk that Roland himself had to step in and carry him to his room. That was so humiliating, he was worried about Roland's view of him, worried about the fact that the king had to get out of the ball just to solve his problem, and the embarassment he probably put everyone through, put Roland through. The situation was so bad that THE KING stopped him.

Baileywick told him that it was him who told Roland about the situation, and Cedric thanked him for helping and trying to convince him to stop drinking. Later, and extremely embarassed and now sober Cedric went to Roland and said he was sorry for everything he did, but then Roland said that he understood his situation, Cedric was suffering a lot and out of control of himself, and all that Roland did was just helping an old friend. Cedric teared up and promised that he would never do this again, ever (and he never did). (That moment was similar to that last scene of Amulet of Avalor or even Day Of The Sorcerers, you know what I'm talking about)

Besides the terrible circunstances of that occasion, the other moments he got drunk were different. He wasn't sad, so he wasn't self-sabotaging himself like that night, so his normal drunk behavior is usually different. He starts to stop paying attention, and often asks people to repeat what they said. He gets slow and sleepy sometimes, and he gets dizzy. When it gets bad it looks like the time he got attacked by Ivy's dragonflies.

In a situation where he's in a relationship, he gets extremely clingy with his SO. He wants their attention all the time, and even starts doing pda, which makes his SO extremely embarassed (Cedric WOULD be if he wasn't drunk). He starts with hugging, then kissing cheeks, neck, when his SO is just trying to talk with someone else at the moment, and this person is looking at them with an uncomfortable look. This is when his SO intervenes to try to make him stop and politely explain to him that now is not a good time for that, which he doesn't pay attention to half the words, but gets the idea and stops. When he is at this state, he basically agrees with almost everything his SO says (forgetting what it is right after)

And please don't let him get ANYWHERE NEAR HIS POTIONS. He can literally explode his tower, on purpose or not. But in contrast to it, he gets surprisingly good at his spells- maybe because he's more relaxed and not thinking about it too much. Cedric has enough knowledge in magic (actually, he has been studying the same thing since he was a little boy) and knows a lot of spells and wand movements by heart, which makes everyone surprised by how when he's sober he makes so many mistakes (in front of people) and when he's drunk his magic works perfectly. Well, his spell choices get a little bit weird, like when he turned a grandpa into a buff man because he "wanted to help" (he did), or when he made the band play a little bit faster, turned the flower arrangements on the table into food, and the list goes on.

[haveyouseenthisskeleton]

Skeleton and S/O are playing with their toddler trying to see who the kid prefers by calling them to come to them. The kid chooses S/O. Main ten reaction?

Undertale Sans - That's fair. Guess that what he gets for rickrolling them to sleep for the first year of their life. He's not mad. He knows his kid is a small prankster eventually and will come around eventually. And then both of them are going to take your revenge on S/O. Sans is patient. He can wait a few more years. Vengeance is better very cold.

Undertale Papyrus - He stays frozen on his knees, arms wide open. He's not hurt or anything. At all. That's fine. He crosses his arms and pouts. S/O teases him by saying he will have better chance next time. Yeah, well obviously! You're not the one who's going to teach them super advance puzzle skills that are going to make them so popular at school. Then who will be the coolest parent? Uh?! He's going to make his kid so good at puzzles you're going to cry!

Underswap Sans - Well, he was sure it would be S/O anyways. Blue is still a bit uneasy about being a dad and he can tell his kid is knowing it. But that's fine, he still has some years to catch up with them. After all, the kid can't only be a mama child. Wait a few months for his hyperactivity to build up and then we'll see if the kid doesn't prefer Blue who can match up their energy for hours contrary to you. He can wait.

Underswap Papyrus - That's the biggest betrayal of his life. Honey flops on his back. He's dead, that's it. His kid just killed him. The child gets worry and runs to his dad. Honey catch up midair, then jumps on his feet, pointing S/O. "See?! He prefers me!" Then he proceeds to run away through the window, carrying his child over his head and screaming with excitement. You are speechless.

Underfell Sans - "eh, that's fine. i would have choose you too." He wiggles his non-existent eyebrows at you, looking you from head to toes with insistance. You gasp, pick up the kid, leave the room, come back, gasp at him, and leave again. Red can't stop chuckling.

Underfell Papyrus - "HOW DARE YOU. I CHANGED YOUR DIRTY DIAPERS MORE OFTEN THAN THEM! THIS IS NOT FAIR! JUST BECAUSE I CAN'T MAKE MILK DOESN'T MEAN I'M NOT BETTER THAN THEM! UNBELIEVABLE!" You can't stop laughing as he is arguing with his one year old kid who is just chuckling hysterically at his face. "ARE YOU MOCKING ME?! OMG! YOU TOOK MORE AFTER SANS DID YOU? HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?!"

Horrortale Sans - Well that's fine. He's not caring as much as you because there's a lot of things he can't do with his head, it's normal. You feel guilty and comes to hug him with the kid. He smiles and purrs. See? He doesn't care the kid didn't pick him since he knows you'll always pick him anyways. You blush.

Horrortale Papyrus - That's fine. He's not salty at all. He's not at all salty and he will definitely not put way too much salt in your soup during dinner. Look at him. So innocent. Such a good player. Will absolutely not ruining your evening. At all. The Tumblr fangirls said he's cute and naive, he can't be evil and they're always right. ...Right? (you feel like you're in danger)

Swapfell Sans - He's offended. It's not fair. You clearly put the kid closer to you and, since their brain is smaller, they went directly for the shortest path. He wants a rematch. You're cheating! His kid loves him, this is impossible.

Swapfell Papyrus - The kid goes towards S/O then suddenly turns around and goes to hug Nox's legs. Rus and S/O gasps in shock and flops on the ground, devastated. Nox proudly says that at least one member of his family has good taste and that since he's in such a good mood he's going to walk outside with the kid. Betrayal.

Fellswap Gold Sans - ... Well, who's surprised? Wine is not exactly the greatest father figure, so... He's not surprised. What surprises him though is his kid leaving S/O to comes hug his legs, giggling. What the hell. He looks at S/O. The hell is he supposed to do now? S/O says to have fun and leaves. W-wait! You can't let him here like this??? With that??? HELP. Come on, it's not funny! They chose you first, pick them up!

Fellswap Gold Papyrus - The kid never moves. He sits on the ground, confused as both Coffee and S/O are cheering them to come. Their brain freezes and they fall on their back, giving up. Oh well.... At least they took a lot after their dad so it's kinda a victory...?

[effervescentdragon]

hi darling of my heart!

i’m prompting you with “not what i came here for” (i think? i don’t remember the exact sentence oops). no specific ship, whatever comes to your heart with this idea.

love youuuuu, te quiero MUUUUUUchisimo 🤍

i am. so sorry for this 🙈 you know where my mind is at (⚽️) and im so wired up that i cant sleep and i really need to and i just. oops ❤️ te quiero MUUUchisimo, perdoname porfavor, todos besitos solo para ti mi amor 💖

They've eaten everything they ordered (and Jamie knows he's going to have to work out twice as hard for the next week because of it), and they've drunk everything they planned to drink (and are now way past the sense of good taste and halfway through a whole bottle of wine), and Gary is eyeing the Dairy Milk that Jamie specifically bought for him (because he wouldn't be caught dead eating that shit) when he says "Let's watch oh-six quarter finals".

Gary tears his gaze away from the chocolate (and Jamie will get him to eat it because it's adorable how upset Gary gets about indulging in any sort of unscheduled pleasure) and frowns, "But we lost that one."

Jamie rolls his eyes. "We lost many, didn't we."

Gary shrugs, an unconscious gesture. Jamie sighs. "Eat the chocolate, Gary, I'll set up the game."

He keeps Gary in his peripherals, smiling to himself when he hears the crinkling of the wrapper. He'll fuck with Gary about it later; he can give him this one moment of enjoyment without calling him fat. Gary isn't fat, it's just his body type. It is a good laugh for the cameras, but there are no cameras here.

"This was a disaster, that fucking game," Gary mutters as Jamie sits next to him. There's a bit if chocolate in the corner of his lips. Jamie turns to the screen.

"Let's look at it like professionals," he says. "Like we should analyse it for the TV, yeah?"

Gary sighs and tops off their wine glasses, putting the empty bottle on the floor. He'll forhet about it and kick it the first time they miss, Jamie knows this. He doesn't mention it.

"Whatever, you masochistic bastard. Let's watch another one of m - our failures."

Jamie doesn't even have time to reply before the anthems are playing, and then they're off. He isn't sure why he's suggested this, not really, because they're awful. Wazza misses in the second minute and Gary kicks the bottle. Jamie's glad they're drinking white. Any stains on the carpet won't be noticable.

They argue about it, obviously. That's what they do.

Gary's too critical of himself - You were sick - So was Frankie, that's not an excuse -Yeah, and he was shit, he missed too many chances - and Jamie doesn't go for the easy shot at Becks' corner delivery.

Gary reaches for another Dairy Milk as Stevie and Frankie try to do something to support Wazza and fail. Becks gets subbed and Jamie elbows the Gary next to him as onscreen, the younger Gary accepts the captain armband.

"Suits you," he says cheekily and Gary giggles, washing down the chocolate with more wine. "You always were too serious."

Gary rolls his eyes, mutters a, "Fuck off, Carra, Terry had a yellow card already."

Jamie nods. "Yeah, and you were a better captain," he says, satisfied when he sees blush spread on Gary's face.

"Stevie could've taken it," he says, and Jamie shakes his head seriously.

"Wazza wouldn't have listened to him," he replies.

Gary snorts. "He didn't listen to me either," he says as Rooney gets a red card and is sent off after the clash with Carvalho.

"It was shit in the locker room, you know," Gary says, eyes firmly on the match. Jamie makes a little noise, urging him to continue. "I wasn't close enough to hear what Ronaldo said when he got to the referee, but Wazza wasn't - he wasn't happy. Neither was Rio," he adds. "They wouldn't tell me precisely what it was but it was shit for a while, after."

Jamie shuffles on the couch. His thigh is pressing against Gary's, that's how close they're sitting.

"Did you have to intervene?" he asks.

Gary chuckles. "Peacekeeping, yeah?" His face scrunches up, the lines around his eyes both prominent and fitting; laugh lines, every one if them. "Captain's duty."

"You won the Euro double next season," Jamie mutters, not sure of how much of his annoyance is real and how much is feigned, "how bad could it have been?"

Gary giggles. "It was tense for a while," he says, and Jamie scoffs. "It was! These lads, they were all really - patriotic, I guess?"

Jamie nods along. "I know what you mean," he says, watching Gary on the screen defend brilliantly and Crouch bottle it. He looks away from the screen just before Stevie overshoots it, to where present day Gary is frowning slightly and adorably at the screen, glancing towards Jamie every couple of seconds. He's licked his lips so much, the chocolste smudge is gone. "I never... it was never that important to me."

"Club over country, yeah?" When Gary smiles like that, like he gets it, like Jamie doesn't have to explain, Jamie feels like all's well with the world.

"Yeah," he says, and then he just... keeps looking at Gary.

He knows the game by heart by now. He's watched it so many time, analysed every shot, ecery corner, every chance. What he wants to hear now is what Gary thinks, and Gary doesn't disappoint. (Jamie isn't sure Gary could disappoint him, though that isn't something he's prepared or willing to acknowledge.) He is thoughtful and he is harsh and he doesn't hold back, and above all he is right. Jamie listens to what he's saying, pleasantly warm and happy and maybe a bit dizzy from the alcohol as Gary tears apart Portugal's game as much as theirs, and Jamie just - enjoys it. Enjoys this. Enjoys spending time with Gary.

"Here we go," Gary says as the penalties come around, and where did almost two hours go? Jamie doesn't know but he knows what's next, and he doesn't want to see it. Suddenly, all he wants is to be anywhere else and to watch anything else except this, because he doesn't want to hear Gary tear Jamie apart like he did himself.

He says nothing. He sees himself go out on the pitch and it's surreal in a way it has never been before when he watched this game. He watches carefully as his younger self stands by the manager and sees young Gary come up to him.

Do you want me to take it?

The words echo in his head. Gary's thigh is pressed into his.

"Is this when I said it?" Gary asks, something heavy in his voice.

Jamie can't find any voice to answer. He nods instead.

It only takes him one breath before three things happen. He sees himself missing the penalty; Gary's leg presses into his; Gary says, "You were in your head. You were thinking too much."

Jamie - doesn't think when he reaches for Gary's hand. He can be brave. He wasn't back then; Gary was the brave one. Gary asked, Do you want me to take it?, serious as anything even though everyone knew it would've pissed off the manager. Jamie can be brave like that, too. He can be brave about things other than football.

An exhale. An inhale. An exhale. A panic barely setting in, then; Gary's fingers entwining with his.

"This isn't what I came here for," he hears Gary mutter in the space where his breath is supposed to be, drowned out by the heavy beating of his heart. "But I like it, yeah."

Jamie's lost all words. On screen, he sees himself walking off, defeated. Ronaldo's up next. He's pretty sure Gary isn't watching the screen anymore. He doesn't like Ronaldo. He likes what he's done for Manchester United, Jamie knows that.

He's pretty sure Gary likes him about as much as he likes Gary.

(He both sounds and feels like a teenager. He'll blame the wine. Maybe. Depending how it all turns out.)

He squezes Gary's hand, and says, "Me too," and leans over to get Gary another Dairy Milk.

(Or... maybe to take the shot. He'll decide in the next second, like he did with the penalty. Except this time, he's pretty sure he can't lose.)

[miyuhpapayuh]

four.

Over the past couple weeks, Zora and Leon have gone on many more dates.

He'd taken her back to the flower shop, and he actually got to pay for the pretty roses she'd picked out.

Picnics by the water, munching on fruit and watching the ducks swim in the pond, til the sun started to melt in the sky.

Drinks at Nicole’s, where Leon told her more about his past antics, and Zora shared a little bit more than she had, making him feel a little more at ease.

Now they're putting their own spin on a paint & sip, courtesy of her spacious living room and art supplies from Michaels.

“Thank god for low coffee tables, huh?” Leon says from the other side of the table, sitting with his long legs stretched out, painting a balloon flower.

He'd told her he was gonna plant some just to see if one could actually pop the petals.

“Right. Ma knew I would need it for something other than propping my feet on top,” she hums a laugh, while painting a bell flower.

Her legs are also stretched out, her bare feet just touching his sock-covered ones.

“Sorry, I'm not a wine person. A buzz ball is the only way I'll participate,” he raises his lime-rita to her strawberry-rita, a smirk on his lips.

“It's okay, like I told you, I only like white wine on occasion. This is perfect.” She replies, clinking the rounded cans together as they take a sip.

“What you paintin’ over there?”

“It's supposed to be a surprise, Leon.”

“Why?”

“Cause,” she chuckles, dipping her brush in the water mug, before dipping it back into her blue-purple mixture.

“Cause?”

“Cause I said so. That good enough?” She looks at him over her glasses, catching the goofy look on his face as he looks back at her.

“Mhm,” he nods, pursing his lips together. “Good enough.”

Carrying on painting and sipping, the pair nod along to the playlist, courtesy of Leon and his surprisingly good taste.

“I like this song.”

Blk oddysy’s funkentology bumps through the black, rectangular speaker that's sitting on the floor. Also courtesy of Leon.

“I'm glad. Sharing music can be nerve wracking.”

“Sharing can be nerve wracking.” She adds, fanning her canvas with her hand.

“Still painting over there?” She asks.

“Nah, I was waiting on you.”

“Oh, my bad. I tend to zone out a little.”

“No worries,” he shrugs. “I just hope it doesn't look like a child painted it.” He jokes.

She laughs, giving him the finger. “First and last time you'll be invited over.”

“Damn, that quick?”

“Childish, huh?” She squints, making him laugh this time.

“Touché.” He says, turning his canvas around to share his painting.

“Wow,” she admires the picture, “you've got skills!”

He chuckles, humbly thanking her with a low hanging head.

“I try, I try.”

“Let's see yours, now.” He motions toward it, catching how shaky her hand became as she lifted it from the table.

She was a little nervous to share, obviously.

Maybe a little more than usual, but she knew it was from all the words swirling around in her brain, telling her to be careful and have fun, not choose the latter just cause it's fun…

Cause fun ends.

Flipping the canvas around, she watches his eyes dart over her cluster of purple-blue bell flowers, like he's following the brushstrokes.

“Do you like it?” She asks, nervously chewing on her lip.

“Yeah, this is beautiful, Zora.” He responds, looking up at her to catch the small smile on her lips.

“Thank you. I take pride in ‘em.” She says, before sitting the canvas back on the table.

“I can tell. It shows in your work.”

“I hope so!,” she laughs, “I took an extra thirty seconds for that last flower!”

“And it was time well took! It's okay.” He joins in the laughter, making her feel better.

“Okay.” She nods, folding her hands in her lap.

“Can I ask you something?” He asks.

“You kinda already did,” she smirks, earning a playful sigh from his end.

“Alright, well my second question, smarty pants, is why are you closed off?”

“I… there hasn't been a reason for me to not be that way. Not in a while, so I'm kinda used to it… I guess.”

“Like a second nature, almost?”

“Exactly,” she replies, sighing to herself.

“You think.. I could be someone to open up to? Maybe one day?” He asks, staring right at her.

“Maybe one day,” she repeats, “if you earn it.”

“Yes ma'am.”

✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿ ... ✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿ ... ✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿

The music continued on as they felt compelled to slink together and sway, their buzzes reducing them to slurred words and giggles.

“Can I ask you a question?” Zora asks, her ear still pressed against his chest.

“You kinda already did,” he mocks, earning a harmless slap on his arm.

“Of course you can. Wassup?”

“Why are you so open?”

“I wasn't always open. I actually relate to you not telling too much, a lot. Nobody's hearing what you sayin’, so why say it, right?”

“Yeah, exactly. It's like ammo for people, and they become a story to tell the next person. I'm sick of stories.” She huffs, holding him a little tighter.

He looks down at her, smiling to himself.

“But people— the right people come along, and you wanna tell stories again.. cause maybe they'll be a good story, maybe a, close that book and open a new one kind of story, ya know?” He rambles, still looking down at the top of her head.

“Yeah,” she nods. “I wanna know what it's like— I'm trying.”

“I know. You're doing better than you think.” He assures, making her look up and meet his gaze.

“Really?” She asks, the usual depth in her voice was somehow a little deeper and sweeter.

“Again, I almost forgot how to speak.” He breathily says, catching himself before he leaned in too much, even though she was fighting to meet him halfway.

“But, yeah. Much better than you think.”

“Good,” she nods, feeling the heat rush over her brown cheeks, thankful they didn't give her away so easily.

“Can I kiss you, Zora?” He asks, unable to contain himself.

She answers with a tug at his collar, pulling him down to her level to close the space between them as their lips attach to each other.

Fireworks times a million are going off in their heads, as their lips mold together perfectly. He sighs into the kiss, making her swoon hard.

Pulling away first, she takes a moment to look at him.

Him and those dark brown pools for eyes of his, so soft and inviting. And those lips! Softer than that.

“Wow,” she says, pulling him back for another kiss. Her hands find the sides of his face, as he wraps his arms around her a little tighter.

Thankfully backing into the couch as their knees began to wobble, the pair fell into a fit of laughter as they hit the cushions.

Now they're staring at each other, slightly panting as their minds race.

“What are you thinking about?” He asks.

She softly shakes her head. “I don't know. You?”

“You.” He answers.

“Me. What about me?”

“Everything. What you'll show me. What you won't.”

“I can't promise to open up right away, cause it's been a while. But I'm trying.” She repeats.

“I know.”

✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿ ... ✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿ ... ✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿

“Alright, girl. What's going on?” Nique asks, as they sit at their usual spot in Nicole’s.

“So, I've been hanging out with Leon for a couple weeks now and he's making it really hard for me. I be feelin’ compelled to say more than I think I should and I just… what do I do?” Zora asks.

“You go with the flow, girl. That's all you can do.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah!” She reiterates, making Zora chuckle a bit. “I know it's not always the easiest thing to do, but there's gotta be a point where you can be comfortable enough to share and know someone won't use it against you later, and from what you're telling me, you haven't given him anything past a phone number and brief rundown of your old boos.”

“Yeah, he's been super patient and I don't wanna run him off or anything, cause I uh…” She trails off.

“What? You like him? Duh!”

She playfully rolls her eyes at her best friend.

“No— well, yeah I do like him. But, we kissed the other night and—”

“What??” She whisper-yells.

“Nique,”

“Zora!”

“Stop it!” She giggles.

“No, you stop it! How was it??”

“It was beautiful.”

“Wow,”

“That's what I said.”

“Wow, how did that happen?”

“We did our own paint ‘n sip. Sipped a little too much and ended up real close.” She sighs.

“So, that changed something.”

“Yeah, it was the way he looked at me right before he asked if he could kiss me. It was like I was bare and he could see everything I wasn't saying.”

“He asked if he could kiss you? That's so cute!” Nique squeals, and Zora let's her have her little things moment, because they do matter.

“Yeah, he's adorable. I hate to say it,” she laughs.

“Well, what are you gonna do now?”

“I don't know. I thought about getting together again and do the talking, this time. I just love to listen, ya know?”

“Well he and I agree, you've listened to enough. It's time you be the one that's being listened to. That's what you're always saying.”

“Always?”

“See, you talk so much, you don't even know how many times you repeat shit.” She cracks, earning a smack to the arm.

That's why I told ma about what you said! She's comin’ to tan that hide!”

“No!”

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Back together in his apartment this time, the pair sit closer than usual on his couch, falling into another lovely conversation.

“Tell me there's an older version of you.”

“Oh, my sisters and I are very different people,” she laughs. “I've got two older sisters.”

“Really?”

“Absolutely! Neoma is a true middle child, just wild and aloof, and Lovita, the beloved spitfire, is the oldest.”

“You're not wild, flower child?” He pokes her knee, making her laugh.

“No, you retired hoodlum!” She pokes him back in the chest, and he dramatically covers the spot, followed by an “ouch!”, as if she'd really bruised him.

“Heavy handed ass.” He laughs.

“Oh please, that was nothing.” She waves him off.

“I'm sure. So this sarcasm gene you got is one of a kind, huh?”

“Don't you think so?” She bats her lashes, just to see if it had any effect. It did.

“Yeah, you sumn else.”

“I've heard. But you can ask ‘em, they'll use any excuse to tell somebody how annoying they find it. As if I don't got my lists ready and loaded for them.” She snorts, while he shakes his head.

“Sounds like quite the trio.”

“You literally have to be there,” she adds.

And he was planning on being there, one day.

“What about you? There different versions of you out there?” She asks.

“In girl form, yes. Talk about a thorn in your side? Eryn knows all about it.”

“She's the youngest?” She asks for clarification, to which he nods.

“Five years makes a world of a difference, let me tell you.” He stresses, making her laugh.

“Aw, let her live. Twenty-five can be a tough age.”

“Was it tough for you?”

“Yeah, I went through a couple hardships— one being the ratchet ass breakup I was telling you about.” She sighs, shaking her head. “But, I made it through. Twenty-eight is hopefully gonna be a better year.”

“How's it been so far? For real.” He asks.

“It's had its moments of glory and its moments of dread, but overall it's been a good year so far. A day at a time, ya know? Maybe even a couple days at a time.” She snorts, earning a small smile in return.

“Yeah, I can definitely relate to that. A couple days at a time, for real.” He stresses, making her giggle.

“Life is ridiculous, sometimes.”

“And sometimes, it does its thing.” He notes with a raise of his brow.

“You flirtin’ with me?” She asks, squinting at him.

“Every chance I get, shorty.”

Did that earn him another juicy kiss? Maybe.

Was he grinning from ear to ear? Absolutely.

“So, how come you don't have your art in a gallery somewhere? You're super talented.” He asks.

“I think about it often, but then I second guess myself into not wanting anybody to see my work,” she sighs.

“How come?”

“I'm a perfectionist, so any mistake that I can see, I think others can too and it just makes me anxious.” She explains.

“Understandable, even though the flaws are what make every piece beautiful.”

“What are you, a walking poem?” She jokes.

He chuckles. “I'm just being real with you, Zora. I think you should really consider putting your work out there, whether it's tomorrow or ten years from now. It's too good to not share it.”

“Thanks,” she smiles, “maybe one day.”

“There you go.”

“Well, what about you?”

“What?”

“Talents. Besides being fine and a cornball, what else you got up your sleeve?”

“A cornball? You said I was funny!” He exclaims with a laugh, causing her to join in.

“You are funny.. and a cornball,” she reiterates, bursting into another fit of giggles.

“Anyway,” he thumps her thigh, “I write sometimes, which is probably why you think I'm a walking poem.”

“Really?? Oh, that's so cool, and it makes so much sense.”

“Does it?”

“Yep, all the dots are connecting.” She grins.

“Keeps me grounded, ya know?”

“Yeah,” she nods, “so when are you gonna share a piece with me?”

“Soon.” He smirks.

Might be my favorite chapter 🤭💜 they're just so so!!

Ch 5

@thegifstories @sheabuttahwrites @nayaxwrites @soufcakmistress @ghostfacekill-monger @nahimjustfeelingit-writes @blackerthings @blowmymbackout @blackpinup22 @henneseyhoe @awerkofart @abeautifulmindexposed @twistedcharismaaa

[ariadventures]

Tea Eggs!!

You know what I haven't written in a while? A cooking/food post! Someone asked me something on Twitter which got me thinking and I figured I'd finally write about making food again, so I'm pretty happy to have something to post on here again.

Immediately at the start of writing this I understand why recipes come with a background story, because cooking IS personal and at least, since I'm not a recipe blog, what investment do you really have in this if I'm not saying something about it? But I'll put the extraneous details after the recipe. This is far from a formal recipe and just a musing of what I did. I mostly did it to taste but these are some approximate measurements:

6-8 eggs 4 cups of water 4 bags black tea 3 tablespoons dark soy sauce 2 tablespoons regular soy sauce 1 tablespoon sugar 4 teaspoons salt 2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine 1 teaspoon five spice powder

Important to note: Make as many eggs as you want as long as it'll all fit in the marinade you make - it's gotta cover all of the eggs, no peekin' out. If you need less marinade, i.e. you're putting it in a tight ziplock bag, feel free to halve or otherwise divide the ingredients to fit.

Make the marinade in a saucepan with all the ingredients besides eggs. I started boiling the water and put the ingredients in one by one. I cut open the tea bags and dumped it all in. The five spice powder is out of convenience - if you look up all the spices included in it, like sichuan peppercorn and star anise and cinnamon etc., and have all of those on hand, you can use those as well, but this is a simple recipe for a simple person.

After mixed and boiling, let it cool off to the side.

Soft boil eggs in another pot, put them in an ice bath afterwards or run them under cold water for a few minutes, whatever your jam is.

Gently (GENTLY!!) use the back of a spoon or something to crack the eggshells while leaving them on, but not break through too much of the egg. The marinade is pretty strong so you could theoretically just completely peel them and soak them for a shorter amount of time, but I like to make them traditionally.

Put the eggs into the marinade and simmer/warm them for like, an hour. After that, let the marinade cool down again, cover it, and refrigerate it for up to 24 hours. That's it!

*Notes*

The dark soy sauce is mostly for the marbling/color of it. If you want a darker marbling, you can add more and reduce the salt. Like I mentioned, I did a lot of it kind of by vibes, so I added in a little more soy sauce and salt myself.

I had a test egg after I simmered them for an hour. Simmer? Warm? As long as it's not boiling, you don't actually want to thoroughly cook the eggs unless you're okay with super overboiled eggs. Tasted good, but did taste so much better after soaking for a day. I note soft boiled above because when you simmer them they do cook a bit again, and traditionally it is hard-boiled, but if you want them not overboiled you should do the soft boil initially.

As seen in the picture above, I marinated it in a saucepan overnight and put some clingwrap over it. My first attempt I only made 3 eggs, and they fit in a mason jar so I just put it all in a mason jar and used maybe half of that recipe above. If you don't want a big ole saucepan, you can also put the marinade in a big ziplock bag that'll stay securely tight. As long as the marinade is covering ALL of the egg!

This is what I mean by marbling! OBVIOUSLY these pictures aren't great (I have never claimed to be a photographer) but this is just to show what the end result should look like. Sometimes the marbling doesn't really come through but it still tastes nice!

I grew up with tea eggs always at the grocery store and able to grab 'em any time I wanted. They were usually always warmed in a crock pot as you grabbed them with tongs, but since I'm not running a crock pot for days as I finish eating them all I have them cold and they're still glorious. You can honestly marinade them 8-24 hours or so, I just like marinading for longer so the color really comes through and for more of the taste to soak in. Marinade them too long and I think they'll get too salty. It's a great subtle flavor, and you can reuse the marinade for another batch if you're making more in a short amount of time (refresh ingredients a lil that may have evaporated) or I know you can theoretically cook meat and vegetables in that marinade so you'll have something tasty from it.

I'm (AS USUAL, everyone moans) having culture feels and been wanting to cook more as a result. Most of it has manifested in veggie soup or varying noodle dishes, but tea eggs are near and dear to my heart and honestly I am so glad they were easier to make than I thought. I have a lot of weird vibes and euughh, trauma 🙄 over being in the kitchen just due to weird family stuff I grew up with so cooking is a real chore for me. Ultimately this uses two small pots (saucepans? pots? whatever they're called) and a tablespoon so the dishes to clean afterwards is minimal.

I really like the tea eggs and I really like that I can make them now, and I wanted to share that. I will probably fixate on them for a hot second! They've got such a nice flavor and my whole apartment smells good after. Let me know if you make any! Thanks for reading.

[ghostboy-art]

Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy

By: Queen

anytime i refer to them as gay I mean that with our silly human terms. obviously. an angel and a demon dont apply to our silly little terms.

im so gay :>

this is filled with typos and ramblings. i wrote this at 2:00am. apologies.

this is a surface level rant on my part. honestly if i had the time and research skills id look up the context of why this was written and how its been used in media up till this point. honestly i might. either way its fairly surface level.

This song is heard when Crowley is going back to Aziraphale in season 2 after he found out about the book of life erasing thing. After listening to this song I have to say. THIS IS AMAZING. obviously the song is good its queen.

Crowley's songs are always queen songs and given the title and given Aziraphales regular dress and general pop culture knowledge i think we know who the “good old fashioned lover boy” is.

This is obviously a romance song but similarly to “A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square.” the lyrics fit their relationship so nicely!!! (as well as being an absolute bop. LISTEN TO THIS GODDAMN SONG. i like the part at 1:44. so cheery!!!)(also this is why Neil Gaimen is AWESOME such small details in the fucking SONG a fucking BENTLEY plays.)(its like 1:09am and im still up after not getting sleep last night and prob none today so ima go on tangents like this hehe)

“Dining at the Ritz, we'll meet at nine

(One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine o'clock) precisely

I will pay the bill, you taste the wine

Driving back in style, in my saloon, will do quite nicely

Just take me back to yours, that will be fine

Come on and get it”

like come on man. “Dining at the Ritz” its Aziracrows THING. their whole routine is dine at the ritz, Aziraphale eats and crowley drinks copious amounts of alcohol, Crowley is always seen paying the bill (or doing something of the sort), they drive in a cool fucking bentley (with a James Bond bullet hole window screen insert), and they go back to Aziraphales bookshop. and the “that'd be fine” matches Aziraphales general attitude when inviting Crowley back to his place in the 1st season and in older flashbacks. Now thats the most obvious. there are many other examples of lyrics that very conveniently match to them.

“Say the word, your wish is my command”

throughout history when Aziraphale and Crowley met up they did favors. whether it be making Hamlet successful, performing magic on the west end stage, getting holy water (“You go too fast for me Crowley.”YOU MF AZIRAPHALE WHYYYY) or magicing away some paint on a very old well kept jacket. they always do things like this for each other. focusing solely on Crowley's perspective he, throughout history, has always been the one to accept Aziraphales requests with little to no complaints. (until Armageddon i suppose)

even in season 2 he lets Aziraphale use his bentley. Although there is some bickering there, he still lets it happen. He doesn't sell books while Aziraphale is away and he even carries them around (the sleeve garters are a whole other thing in this scene)

now realistically the “good old fashioned lover boy” is, im sure, referring to both of them. also the song just feels gay. just listen to it. its gay. i swear.

Now. not saying it matches perfectly. obviously it doesn't but even the GO fandom links the two pieces of media on occasion(see second link). they are inexplicably connected, whether its false pattern recognition (i have currently forgotten the proper term for that. T-T) or intended by mr gaiman i think its so intriguing that the songs picked to play fit so nicely into the deeper narrative. this. is good media

“Write my letter, feel much better

I'll use my fancy patter on the telephone”

Essentially means smooth talking on the phone. Which you have to admit Crowley does to Aziraphale quite often. And Aziraphale writes letters. honestly its cute. specially im thinking of season 1 when Aziraphale is writing a note to Crowley while they are on the phone. its later in the season in the last ditch rush to stop the antichrist.

I used the bit of lyrics that fit them the best in the beginning of the rant. and time for my least convincing point. the vibe just fits them so well. the slightly old school beat with simple romantic lyrics. Its not anything overtly sexual. just the simplicities of romance. IT FUCKING FITTSSS!!!!

There is so much more but i dont want to make this 10000000000000000000 paragraphs long and i have other good omens stuff i want to rant about:>

just my opinion on a silly song that appears for like a minute in the show!

[punsmaster69]

5/OCT/20XX

mettaton's hosting some sort of way-too-early halloween party. says he was inspired by yesterday.

normally i wouldn't go, but papyrus and tori said i should go with them.

——

[The handwriting from this point on gets progressively worse.]

paps doesn't want to wear his main halloween costume more than once, so he's a vampire for today.

——

oh.

undyne is picking up alphys. not like, from the party.

from the floor, into the air over her head.

she must be pretty drunk.

not undyne, i mean that alphys must be to agree to that.

that's just normal undyne.

——

i'm beginning to suspect mettaton only threw this party to promote his new alcoholic drinks line.

tori tried one of the mettaton-branded drinks. her face scrunched up reflexively.

papyrus tried one sip and exclaimed,

"THIS TASTES LIKE ALCOHOL!!"

"not wrong, there."

"NO, THE ..MEDICINAL KIND. THE KIND MS. TORIEL USES WHEN FRISK SCRAPES THEIR KNEE! HYPRO.. SOMETHING."

"hydrogen peroxide?"

"YES, HYDRATED PER ROCKS-SIDE!"

"close enough."

i took the glass from papyrus and downed it.

"...."

"it does taste how peroxide smells."

"ALMOST PERFECTLY!"

"gross."

——

aside from mettaton's branded ones, the drinks selection was pretty good. someone knows their wines.

——

papyrus keeps hovering around me, checking if i'm awake. i know i fell asleep early yesterday, so i guess he's worried.

——

he came up to me just now and felt my forehead for some reason.

"...STAY RIGHT THERE!"

papyrus is now running up to toriel. couldn't hear what he was saying, but his hand gestures seem to indicate something about my temperature.

...

i do feel a bit warm. guess it's pretty hot in here.

——

with papyrus in tow, toriel approached me.

tori looks.. so nice tonight.

black is a better her colour on her than she thinks.

tori sat in the seat next to me, and papyrus sat across from me.

"Sans, have you had much to drink?"

i glanced at the empty cups next to me.

"..haven't been keepin' track, to be honest."

she leaned over to see how many cups there were, eyes widening.

"You look so sober!"

"HE'S SMILING TOO MUCH TO BE!"

"Is that not his resting expression..?"

"THIS IS A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT KIND OF SMILE!!"

she leaned in to look at me.

"IT'S A DIFFERENT ONE NOW!"

i covered my face with my hands.

"Ah! Are we staring too much? I apologize."

i could feel papyrus continuing to stare at me, as if waiting for something.

"JUST NOW! NORMALLY SANS WOULD HAVE SOME SORT OF WITTY REMARK, BUT HE'S QUIET!!"

"That is true..."

"......"

i opened my hands, showing my face again.

"boo."

papyrus's focused expression turned to one of partial concern and partial irritation.

she giggled and put a hand to my head.

"Perhaps you 𝘢𝘳𝘦 a bit tipsier than you first appear."

she gasped.

"His face..!"

"HE GOT... BLUE-ER."

she leaned in again to look at my face.

"IT GOT WORSE!!"

covering my face again, i leaned my head against toriel's.

"...you smell pretty."

she didn't say anything.

"MS. TORIEL, YOU'RE CHANGING COLOR TOO! IS COLOR-CHANGING CONTAGIOUS??"

tori pulled away.

"N-no, it is alright. I also had a few drinks, so perhaps I am a bit drunk."

"..Sans? Surely you do not plan to keep your face covered all night?"

gently moving my hands to the sides of my skull, tori kept her hands on mine.

"I do not mind if you are feeling a bit..𝘣𝘭𝘶𝘦."

"..Or if you keep getting blue-er."

"....."

keeping my eyes locked with hers, i couldn't help marveling.

dark red is.. really beautiful..

"I GUESS THIS MEANS WE'RE GOING HOME EARLY."

the dark red disappeared from my view.

"How come?"

"SANS IS OBVIOUSLY DRUNK. HE SHOULD LAY DOWN, RIGHT?"

fuzzy hands still on my face, i closed my eyes to bask in the warmth.

"He will be alright to stay for a while as long as he doesn't have more."

"Papyrus.. If you would like to go enjoy the party, I would not mind keeping an eye on him."

"IF YOU SAY SO, MS. TORIEL, THEN I TRUST YOU. SANS.. STAY WITH MS. TORIEL."

"mhm."

i heard the tapping of papyrus' heels slowly get farther away until it was just me and tori at the table.

"Are you still feeling alright?"

she started to move her hands away, but i pulled them back without thinking.

i quickly let go.

"If you are cold, I can ask Mettaton if he has a blanket."

...

how do i explain..

"it's different."

"... Different?"

"you.. you're warmer."

"...Then,"

tori moved her chair right next to mine.

"is this better?"

she gently pulled me backwards so that my skull rested in her lap.

my face suddenly felt hot.

quickly sitting upright and pulling my hood over my head, i stuttered out

"t-"

"too warm-"

and rushed to the nearest bathroom to close myself in.

——

a couple minutes went by before i heard a knock on the door.

"...Are you alright, Sans?"

"i'm going by just sans these days."

it was stupid, but she liked it anyways.

giggling, tori knocked twice on the door.

"Knock knock!"

"who's there?"

"An old lady."

"old lady who?"

"I did not know you knew how to yodel!"

couldn't help but laugh. me laughing made her laugh too, which made us both laugh even harder.

i don't know how long we sat there, laughing and telling jokes through a door.

i opened the door enough to look at her.

sat on the floor on the other side, tori peeked through at me as well.

doing what i wish we could've done before, tori opened the door the rest of the way. entering into the same side of the door as me, she closed it behind her.

"It is much cooler in here."

"you make it hotter."

"...wait-"

"i-i meant. body temperature."

tori gave a smirk.

"So you think my body is the hottest?"

"would you mind if i borrowed some warmth?"

tori pulled me into her arms.

embracing me, she held my skull close to her chest.

i felt the heat returning to my face, but i remained still.

——

quietly enjoying the feeling of other's weight in our arms, i felt that fluttering in my chest again.

"tori.."

i quickly sat up onto my knees, looking her in the eyes.

...i then completely lost my balance.

"Try to not get up so fast..!"

hugging me once more to stop my fall, she asked,

"..Would you like to try and say it again?"

[The page abruptly stops. The handwriting returns to normal on the next page.]

suddenly i found myself lacking the spine to say anything at all.

"......"

"Perhaps it is time for you to go home."

not being able to say anything, i only held tighter onto her.

she carried me out of the bathroom like i weighed nothing. tori then let papyrus know we were leaving.

..can't remember anything else.