#anyway cool to try and a fun sunday activity!

[abirddogmoment]

I didn't take any photos but I took Rory skijoring for the first time today!

We did a 3.5km groomed multi-use trail with my (new to me) classic cross country skis. I got these skis off Marketplace last year but hadn't had the chance to use them yet. I'm not sure if it was my ski wax, the snow, or the weather, but I was NOT getting the glide I hoped. We both worked super hard so I let her off for the last 500m so she could run free while I skied.

It was really fun despite the effort! Idk if it'll be a regular activity in our rotation (as rollerblade canicross and free running both mutually easier and enriching activities) but it was cool to try out anyway.

[virocci]

おはよう　みなさん！ welcom back to the blog ppls

i figured i should do a life update once more since its been a good while.

firstly,

i think i wanna try speaking more japanese, im learning it with my school rn and ik that i understand and can speak quite a bit. its just i forget vocab so easily :,) maybe ill start tryna speak/test more in my blog posts :>

game segment *woosh woosh super cool transition*

i bought the $30 season pass for strinova hehe. i went level like 85-87 and then bought it and gave me and extra 25 to complete the battle pass :> idk if im gonna go ahead and do that again, it all depnds what in the pass and if i feel that ill be able to finish it :,)

i also pulled THE HERTA in hsr :> (my last post) but i speant all my stellar jades on her which is soooo sad. i was planning to get jade for her if i got herta early... but i didnt :( i think ill try to farm for jades and to see if i can pull jade :> i reeeeeeally wanna build a herta team hehe. i also still havent built sunday yet... or rappa for that matter. i think one day ill have to sit down and js do allll my grinding lol

also, i havent acc rll touched zzz since i completed the event but ive been feeling and itch to log again so maybe ill do that. im saving to get the vtuber girls and they supposedly are supposed to come out in march SO I REEEEALLY gotta be saving HARD.

also miku in fortnite. i legit downloaded fortnite JUST for miku and am acc lowk thinking abt buying her skin lol. only problem is that both of skins is like 4.6K vbucks and if I were to buy it id need to spend 50$ and i cant rlly afford to do that rn :(

ive also gotten like 10-ish hours into persona 5 :> the point to when your exploring the second castle. :D im reeeeally enjoying the game so far AND I CANT WAIT FOR FUTABA.

game segament done *super cool silly woop woop transition*

this next two weeks i have aaaaall my finals so iv been studying super hard. this friday i have my grade 12 math final exam and omggg im have been studying HARRD. I AM LOCKED IN FRFR. i rlly hope i do well so i atleast wont have to redo the exam when i do the course again :>

also eggrolls (the g u y, refer to past posts lol), COMPLETELY turned away from me when i went to see a friends that has lunch on the same floor w/ him. theres a whole group of ppl there and he eat w/ those ppl since his gf is there. And, my friend wasn't there so i was tryna ask someone ik we she was, and i looked to eggrolls for a minute (HE COMPLETLY avoided me btw) and HIS GF answered saying my friend isnt eating there anymore (or today idk what she said). but either way i found it kinda funny. idk if i mentioned this but i ended up never following him back on his public account, i js thought he didnt deserve it :) also there was a day we were doing some activity in class and he tried asking me for answers, i js pretended i didnt hear him and didnt move (there was also a group around his desk/behind me so it was plausable i didnt hear him) and i feel kinda proud of myself for not budging.

also there was a day during winter break i saw people from my old school when i was out with wifey 2. they were two guys who bullied me and were just assholes to me back in 8th grade. they just made fun of me for watching stuf like gacha and anime (listen i was in a phase back then) and also for wanting to dress more alternativly. acc, everyone in my class would say i was weird cause i wanted to dress differently and less basic (if i may say). that day i was wearing like a SCRUMPTIOUS fit. and after we saw them, i felt so proud of myself for being able to prove them wrong. like it felt so satisfying showing the ppl who put me down for being myself and prove that i executed it SO WELL.

anyways, i believe thats it for now :) i think another life update will have to come after exam unfortuanelty :(\

side note... if anyone actually sees this and reads this its kinda just a public journal :3 i feel i should be documenting more things that happen to me so this is my way of doing so. either way id still appreciate some interaction... i like seein ppl listen to what i havce to say :3

here is a yummy song for chu since you read allllll that :3

[boqvistsbabe]

Update!!!!!!!!

Hey Y’all!!

Here is the start of hopefully monthly updates. I know in my last update I said I was going to be more consistently here and active. Obviously, that didn’t happen lol. Trying to hold myself to that rn. So this is probably going to be the format for all of my update posts, just so they are easier to follow.

Refresh:

So I am almost completely done with the blog refresh. I think all that is left is updating links and getting some other posts (ex: theme days) made/redone. Most of that got put on the back burner due to how long they were going to take lol. But hopefully, over Spring Break, I’ll be able to get those done (no promises, another thing I’m trying to do, is be more realistic about what I want to get done by when so). 

Writing/Other Content:

Ik I said I’d write more. Once again didn’t really happen. Well, I have written a decent bit, but never finished anything. There is one fic that I am going to try and work on after this week (midterms lol) and have someone look over it (the first time I’ve had a beta reader, look at me go lol). Like the blog as a whole, I am trying to organize my writing, like requests and my ideas and what is going out when etc. (@ any of the other writers if you have any suggestions of what to/where to organize my stuff so it doesn’t get all confusing and mixed up you should def let me know). Speaking of requests, I am going to try and do at least two requests a month. That doesn’t sound like a lot but for me, that feels like something I can realistically do. I will be doing old requests first because even though they are years old at this point, I liked the ideas so I genuinely want to write them. I am still going to be accepting new requests (esp because sometimes that helps spark creativity/help with writer’s block so feel free to send in any ideas!!) but I will try to get those older ones done first. As for any other content (playlists, moodboards, IG edits, drawings, etc.) I am also taking requests for those so feel free to send in any of those requests too. 

Another Blog?!

As of rn the second hockey blog has not been “released”. I want to catch up on things for this blog before I throw that into the mix and try to grow that as well. I am hoping to add that sometime this summer. Also, I do technically have a sideblog already (@samistheman) which is normally where I reblog random things, and I don’t really have tags for that blog I just kinda willy-nilly reblog there (it used to be mostly PJO stuff but now that’s kind of here because of how much of it there is lol).

Life Update:

College is a lot rn. I’m doing 17 credit hours and tbh do not know what possessed me to do that. At first, I was doing pretty good, but now not so much. Like I said earlier I have midterms this week. If y’all didn’t know this, I’m shit at taking tests so not doing great rn. Thankfully one of my classes ends on Sunday so at least I don’t have to worry about that. I’ve had a lot going on in my personal life recently that is impacting a lot so trying to navigate that as well. I am moving out in May, which is yes months from now but there is still a lot that I need to do beforehand. Anyway, I’m going to a college hockey game on Thursday and I am super excited. I haven’t been able to go to a game since October. Also little fun update, I’m going on a weekend (work) trip to Boston. Super excited for that. I’ll be getting to go to a Celtics game and a Red Sox game (I’m a Royals girlie tho). I’ve never been to an NBA game so that’s for sure gonna be really cool. I’ve been to many MLB games before but this will be my first at a different stadium. Anyway, I think that is it for this update. Hope y’all are doing well!!

As usual, if y’all ever want to talk dms/inbox are open <3

I am going to tag some moots, I am totally forgetting some people so I am sorry for that (if y'all could reblog that would be amazing)

@2manytabsopen @krugstrash @jimmystrudel @andreburakozy @sidneycrosbyhoe @fallinallincurls @timstuetzle @typical-simplelove @ilyasorokinn @drei-mrssvechii

[purplesurveys]

1850

1 - When was the last time it snowed where you live? Do you like snowy weather or is it just a pain? Uh... Anyway, cold weather is definitely preferred. We're reaching high 40s now and will still go up to the 50s in May, and it is not only uncomfortable but also starting to get very inconvenient.

2 - Are you expecting any parcels in the mail right now? Not for a while. I ordered J-Hope's album but was already informed in advance that I probably won't get it until June since my shop ships stuff from Korea in bulk. Which is fine. With BTS on hiatus I've considerably calmed down when it comes to merch lol.

3 - How long is it until your birthday? Do you have any plans for the day? Like, 363 days haha. I just celebrated my 26th last Sunday, and all I did was watch a Spongebob movie with my sister in the morning, slept all afternoon, then went to my favorite hotel buffet for dinner with my family.

4 - What was the last thing you had to drink? Coffee. The Spanish latte I got tonight had a cracked lid so my jeans are now all soaked.

5 - Do you need to do any laundry right now? Yup.

6 - Who was the last person you got a notification from on social media? Is this person a close friend of yours? That would Alex, just a dude related to work. No, I wouldn't call him a friend but he is genuinely one of the nicest people I know.

7 - Do you regularly buy things on credit? If so, how much do you owe on credit cards right now? No. I got a surprise credit card in the mail a few weeks ago (I say 'surprise' because apparently I said yes when I got surveyed years ago...? then I just forgot about it I guess LOL), but I absolutely refuse to use it. It's not even activated yet. I don't want to form a habit around paying things on credit.

8 - When was the last time you got a call from an unknown number? Did you answer or call them back? Can't be bothered to check when exactly, but I know it was a few weeks ago. I probably answered it because at the time I knew it would be someone work-related calling.

9 - When was the last time you got off work early? What was the reason and did you do anything fun with your extra free time? I don't do that, I always do the full 8 hours. Earlier this month though I did file a morning leave to attend a watch party for Wrestlemania.

10 -  What do you typically eat for Christmas Dinner? Are you the one who cooks or does a family member do the cooking? My family is never consistent when it comes to Christmas spreads lmao, it's always different meals every year! For the longest time it was my mom and grandma who did the cooking; but now that I could afford to treat my family (and can't cook hah) I buy platters and trays of all kinds of stuff so that everyone can get what they want.

11 - What time did you wake up this morning? Did you get out of bed right away? I needed to wake up earlier since I already had a meeting scheduled for 9 AM. I think I started to wake up around 7:30.

12 - Do you have any plans for the weekend? Are these plans typical for a weekend or are you doing something different? Saturday will be for rest as I have back to back events on Sunday. I'd say at this point it is pretty typical for work to eat up what little free time I have - it also comes with the higher role - but I'm hopeful this phase would stop soon. I have no weekend events booked yet for May onwards so that's looking like a good sign.

13 - Would you like to work a job that involves going in and out of other people’s homes all day? (Like care work, painter, decorated etc.) That'd be cool, but I wouldn't know what kind of related job would fit me best. I did always have an interest in interior design – I like trying to look into people's living rooms when we drive by them in the village (but tbh this is also because I live around rich people and they all have super big minimalist mansions lol), and when I was younger all I wanted to do in GTA was to have a cheat code that would let me in people's homes lmao.

14 - When was the last time you had an injury? Was it a minor cut/scrape or something more serious? What happened? Sprained my ankle two years ago. I had one drink too many and ended up tripping in a bad way over some steps on my birthday, hehe... 15 - Do you ever watch movies or TV shows that require you to read subtitles? I mean I like having subtitles around in general. It's obviously helpful when watching foreign-language shows/movies, but even for English I prefer having them turned on because I hate it when actors mumble or have too-thick accents.

16 - What accents are your favourite? Don't have any.

17 - How many people have you texted today? Are these people friends, family members or something else? People I've messaged today, outside of work, would be Angela, Lei, my mom, and sister. 3 out of 4 of these people are family.

18 - Are you any good at DIY? What was the last DIY project you finished? I'm not good at any DIY or arts or crafts, period.

19 - When was the last time you had a haircut? When was the last time you dyed your hair (if you ever have)? Hair cut: Year and a half ago. Dye: Around six months ago.

20 - Do you prefer wearing tight-fitting or loose-fitting clothes? I prefer the baggy/oversized fit now.

21 - Are you currently warm, cold or just right? Is the heating or air conditioning on to contribute to that feeling? I'm quite warm, but it's not as bad as the TERRIBLE weather earlier today. It's evening so it's a lot more manageable, but that's not to say I've stopped sweating because I still fucking am.

22 - What was the last piece of good news you received? Was it expected? Pharmacist licensure exam results came out today and I saw that my cousin passed. Yes, I always knew she was going to kill it.

23 - What colour socks are you wearing right now? Maroon.

24 - Do you prefer hot coffee or iced coffee? What about hot tea or iced tea? Iced coffee, iced tea.

25 - What are some of your favourite Christmas songs? What time of year do you start listening to Christmas music? Christmas Love by Jimin :) Kelly Clarkson also has that bubbly song but I'm blanking out on the title. I usually start to listen around the 2nd week of December, then go into overdrive between the 24th and 25th haha.

26 - If you see cats wandering about in the street, do you stop and fuss them? No.

27 - Speaking of cats, do you own a cat? Are they a particular breed or just a moggie? Would you ever want a specific breed of cat at all? No.

28 - When was the last time you moved furniture around to clean behind or underneath it? Do you need someone’s help in order to do that? Just a few weeks ago. No, it's just a decorative chair in the living room so it's easy to move around.

29 - Do you have any medications that you need to take daily? Is this something you’re going to have to do for the rest of your life? I don't.

30 - Do you know how to start an open fire and keep it burning without using loads of wood? Is this a skill you use on a regular basis at all? I don't know how to start fire.

[usagimen]

SHIPPING INFO. | answer the following for your muse(s) so people know how shipping works on your blog.

what’s your otp for your muses?

Considering Sayuri is an OC it's very up in the air. I do enjoy her with Naoya considering she is meant to be very Zen'in coded in militaristic style. Nanami is a given, you will die from the angst && gladly enjoy it. UhHH Uro, she was so cool, Sayuri would have loved her had it not been a battle to the death && them in the Heian Era together would have went hard. In the right circumstances, Gojo would be interesting but this has to be intensely plotted as the Kobayashi Clan rejects the Gojo Clan with a violence like no other. Hiromi is certainly another person I high key ship her with since it's hysterical he is a lawyer while she is the personification of divine justice. Ask me about cross-over ships then it gets really fun.

what are you willing to rp when it comes to shipping?

I'm a pretty go with the flow person, I do like meatier plots, more in depth things to better entwine the muses together. It's basically we're in this hell together, superglued attach, so tell me what you want.

how large does an age gap have to be to make it uncomfortable?

Sayuri is 27, I cannot see her dating anyone below her age group. She's fine with older partners granted she is made for that type of shipping due to being an old woman in a young body. Otherwise, don't be weird or icky, I will find you thus proceed to maul you.

are you selective when shipping?

Yes and no, I am only selective when knowing my partner feels the same way. Otherwise, continuing to tease ships, go from hot to cold, or make your muse the central theme of a ship is a quick way for me to say thanks but no thanks.

how far do steamy moments have to go before they’re considered nsfw?

If there are nips out on both side, it's time to put it under a read more, thank you.

who are other muses that you ship your muses with?

AHhHHHH oh, cross-over ships I have for her is Cregan Stark, Aemond Targaryen, Myseria, Shadowheart of BG3, Blackwall of Dragon Age Inquisition, Josephine Montilyet.

does one have to ask to ship with you?

No and yes, you can send in flirty things, suggestive things, hell even on sunday idc if we do nsfw. Sometimes it builds to a ship, otherwise, if you want to solidify it and actually become partners, then yes - just pop into the DMs to beat me up or demand we become locked in together.

are you multiship?

Of course but exclusive to one canon, with ocs, you're my friend && we're in this together ~

are you ship obsessed or ship more-or-less?

I do love shipping, I don't like there is a general dislike that one shouldn't be shipped obsessed. Yes, write romantica, erotica, whatever your dreamer little heart desires because it's fun. Just be mindful, kind, and respective that's it. That being said, I sometimes fall into that category cause I too have a soft marshmallow heart. Sometimes my little blob brain is just, hahahahahaha kissies, anyway! that's a good question. My only thing is that the ship is meaty, then I become utterly enthralled by it since there is an actual excitement between both parties. I do not like to be the only active participant in a ship that is trying so hard to make it work, it feels like a waste of time then, so I guess that's how I do become ship obsessed.

what is your favorite ship in your current fandom(s)?

I'm a little freak that'd get pitch forked but uh, sukugo is probably a great love of mine

finally, how does one ship with you?

Just bash the door down via DMS and go: CEREZA HOLY FUCK. That's it, that's all it takes, you now have a rabbit like woman who would die for you.

tagged by: I stole it from @ak4rin💕💕💕💕 tagging: do crime, steal it

[namuneulbo]

week one hundred and sixty three

a slut era has begun.

l's showing zero interest now and i've gotten super tired of how hes acting so i'm over it lmao. i downloaded dating apps again and changed my settings from serious to casual. in reality, i want serious but i'm also aware of the fact that that's highly unlikely with me going to korea soon. i haven't actively gone on dates with multiple people before but i wanna try living on the edge a bit, meeting people, flirting, hooking up, whatever. just having fun and not thinking about finding a serious partner for now. i've matched with a few people since but no one's replied :(

had my final exam for the term on wednesday. i still have two re-exams in january though. it's still nice though, the workload has definitely lessened but i still gotta study for the re-exams :')

had dinner in the evening together with my classmates and two of the lecturers. we had hotpot. only me and one of the lecturers were vegetarian so we shared and it was alright but the vegetarian options weren't great. the lecturer was one of our future teachers. we haven't had her in any class yet but a lot of my classmates seemed to know her anyways. she was really nice so i look forward to doing her class. she had cool tattoos and she recommended an app for me to use as a vegetarian in korea later on.

today i hung out with l. plans were very much changed. we originally planned for him to sleepover saturday to sunday but then that turned into just hanging out saturday evening until he cancelled and asked if we could hang out today instead. we just walked around shops as he was christmas shopping. i found two kent albums on cd second hand and also two dvds, sweeney todd and brokeback mountain. i've actually not seen either of them but i think i'll like both anyways!

other than that i haven't done anything too exciting. i'm on my way to finland for christmas now. about to go on the bus to the port and then spend my night on a ferry.

i've been listening to soooo much drain gang, oh my fucking god. everyday. constantly. i can't stop. literally had music videos on today while doing my makeup.

also, just got to the port. ferry crush has been discovered!!!

sotw: yung lean - leanworld

[allylikethecat]

Sleepover Saturday (Sunday)

Tell me about how you got into the equestrian world! I know nothing about horses and what being an equestrian entails

Happy Sleepover Saturday (Sunday) (but now really Monday...)

Thank you for sending this in! I'm sorry for not getting to it yesterday! I do think it's funny though because your question is about me getting into the equestrian world and I didn't look at any asks yesterday because I was at a horse show 😂 I apologize for this being SO LONG horses are like my favorite thing lol.

Anyway! I've always been obsessed with horses, but didn't have the opportunity to ride super regularly as a kid because I grew up in a metropolitan city. I had a neighbor growing up that would take pity on me and let me tag along to the barn with her, and take lessons / ride her retired mare but I never got to compete or really advance as much as I wanted to. My parents are NOT into animals at all and were very much just not into the idea of it? I was dumped into literally every other sport / activity as a child (I actually sailed competitively for a little bit in high school and for fun a little bit in college and also was super into scuba diving for a bit there before I blew out my ear drum lol).

After I graduated college I moved to an area for my job where horses were a lot more accessible and the first thing I did with my adult money was start taking regular riding lessons. From there I met my wonderful trainer and also Pop and ended up impulsively buying him. Which, don't recommend BUT it all worked out for me. He is my absolute best friend and is so down for every ridiculous idea I come up with and I have been lucky enough to be able to travel and show him at various rated shows in the Western half of the US. He is my heart horse and the absolute love of my life and I don't think I would have made it through all the covid lock downs without him. 🥰

I usually try and ride 5-6 days a week (the barn is closed one day a week) and he lives at a full care boutique show barn which means his "people" handle all of his day to day care (cleaning his stall / feeding him / turning him out every day / riding him when I don't / managing his vet care and farrier schedule / his magnawave appointments because he's spoiled). Days that I ride I'll go up after work and groom him, tack him up and either hack him on the flat (he's getting older so we do a lot of bending to keep him loose!) or have a lesson. I usually try and take one flat lesson a week and one jumping lesson (he doesn't jump more than once a week unless we are at a show). If the weather is nice I also try and take him out on a trail ride a few times a month. Then I'll cool him out, groom him again, and then we'll hang out either grazing or eating treats and getting pets in his stall.

Thank you so much for sending this ask and indulging me in my horse girlness! I'm excited post the Equestrian AU after I finish the Christmas fic! I hope you have a very happy Monday and a great week!

❤️Ally

[rrxnjun]

oh my god thanku really love the date cuz its a national holiday here so every year i'm getting fireworks🤭🩷💗also can i ask when is ur birthday or is that top secret information?👀

oo i'm really glad u were able to keep the idea🥳🥳(but really cuz other wise i might have not found ur page and that is just heartbreaking when i think about it💔)

tbh i'm down if u end up coming just tell me cuz i'm 80% sure i will go🫡 i don't understand why they are not going to vienna like i remember it being so popular for concerts cuz i was so salty about the fact that it's just the neighboring country and they couldn't have come a little bit closer🤣 AHH MAN NOOO THATS SO SAD☹️☹️☹️I HOPE U WILL BE ABLE TO SEE THEM ONE DAY!!!!☹️

U ARE JUST AMAZING FOR THAT!! best tendencies 🤣 yeah i was very shocked as well but i didn't get edits about it luckily cuz i think that would have made me so much more sad🫡 I UNDERSTAND THAT SO MUCH I WAS THE SAME FOR AGOOD WHILE MANS WAS ON MY MIND 24/7 (and still he is very much there although not as much as he used to:/)🤭 IDK I DONT UNDERSTAND WHY THERE ARE BASICALLY NO TREASURE WRITERS HERE??? but i really think u would be an exceptional writer for them👀sooo i'm waiting for a treasure fic if u don't fall out of them ofc (although that is kinda hard to imo) ooo u know i think just a drabble couldn't hurt anyoneeee🤗 THEN IM WAITING FOR UR FIC EVEN MORE🥳

HOOE UR DOING WELL AS WELL!!! and i'm not too sweet u are too sweet!!!!!🩷💘💘 (and sorry again for the very late reply school sucks☹️)

(and i also wanted to ask that should i send u asks on ur other acc if i see something that i would bring up here just so i don't pollute this page anymore than i already did🤣like i just keep bringing up random topics here so sorry)

(liebestraum anon🌷💕💞)

omg thats so cool???? fireworks on your bday every year must be so amazing woah,,,, my bday is not a top secret dw 😌😌 its quite literally in 2 days (apr 16) lmao i feel very old and i also forgot its my bday this sunday so when my mum mentioned it i was like what already???

hhhh i am too!! i am currently actively writing it just so you know<33 if school doesnt kick my ass as hard (which it might bc i have my first final in 10 days LMAO) i think it should be done before summer AHAHA

have fun if you end up going!!! i had a talk w everyrone and came to the conclusion that i just cant go this year so thats :// maybe next year.... manifesting vienna fr that way i could be home the same day if i tried hard enough. VIENNA USED TO BE SO POPULAR W CONCERTS i swear every pop punk band and their mothers back in the day had a concert there. what happened im gen so confused i keep searching for it on every tour but nowadays no one goes there

you know the song TV by billie eilish??? thOSE edits make me so heartbroken. like 'dont know where you are right now, did you see me on TV?' bitch stop puting mashidam onto those lyrics i will have a full on meltdown. but anyways my man jihoon is still on my mind 24/7 and its gotten even worse man i need serious help i think. somebody call an exorcist. and stop supporting that drabble i will nOT write it (i am trying really hard to contain myself rn)

school sucks and it should be cancelled. >:(( i hope youre doing well i enjoyed hearing from you,, hope life treats you good in the next couple of days!!! mwah

also you can send asks whenever you want!! honestly this is my space and i dont mind clogging the dash djfkdlj if anyone minds these they can just block the tag, they curate their own tumblr experience :p but if you ever wanna send anything to mosviqu or my other blogs i honestly welcome you everywhere!!!

[augustinewrites]

eternally suffering bcs they don’t make men like iwaizumi hajime

iwaizumi hajime is a morning person.

yes, even on the weekends.

he likes being active, likes starting his day with a rush of energy. it was a habit nursed from his high school days, and carried into adulthood. he'd never understood the concept of slowing down, or granting oneself the luxury of a lazy day.

so he doesn’t hit snooze when his alarm wakes him at 7am (which is sleeping in, by his definition. on weekdays he’s up at the ass-crack of dawn). he doesn’t pull the covers over his eyes for ‘just five more minutes.’

iwaizumi simply turns off his alarm, gets up, and presses a kiss to your forehead. he murmurs, good morning, baby, pulling the covers back up around your chin before heading into the bathroom to splash his face with some cool water.

by 7:15 he’s changed, stretching in the center of your bedroom and pretending not to notice you peeking at him whenever his shirt rides up. then it’s another forehead kiss, a trip down to the kitchen for a light breakfast and to feed the dog. by 7:45 he’s lacing up his shoes, clipping on the dog’s leash, and they’re heading out the door.

he likes running in the mornings, especially on weekends. the city’s still a little sleepy, the roads and sidewalks a little less congested, giving him and your eager german shepherd plenty of room to move.

he keeps a steady pace, taking the time to enjoy the sparkling layer of morning dew that’s blanketed across the park greenery. this speed is a little laxer than he’s accustomed to, because he’s not checking his watch every few minutes to make sure he won’t be late for work.

runner’s high is a thing, and iwaizumi’s addicted. he likes the feel of his heart is pumping blood through his veins, the crunch of the dirt path beneath his soles steady, constant, comforting amongst the dull hum of the city waking up.

weekend runs are nice, with the natural high, the beautiful scenery, and cool air (if only he could convince you to join him. then it’d be perfect.)

it’s almost nine by the time he’s finished a final cool down lap. both he and the dog are panting lightly, his mind refreshed and body energized, ready to spend the day with you.

though he’s walked from the park to home enough times to be aware of every shortcut, iwaizumi takes the long way on sundays. and he doesn't jog back, he walks.

iwaizumi hajime, walking during his morning run.

he’s greeted with a cheery ‘good morning!’ as he steps into your favourite cafe. the sunday morning shift knows he and his order by heart now, and sure enough, there’s a couple of muffins and a pair of croissants boxed and up before he can even order.

he’s a little eager to get home to you now, pace quickening to a jog as he weaves through other early morning commuters.

judging from the aroma of coffee brewing, and the crackle of something on the stove, you’re awake when he steps inside the house. iwaizumi unclips the dog from his leash before slipping his shoes off and hanging his windbreaker.

and he'd have preferred to be the first to properly greet you, but he's been beat by the dog, who's already happily accepting an affectionate kiss to his head and scratch behind the ears.

he huffs a little (it's not petulant, don't get it twisted, babe), but can't help but smile when he opens the fridge and sees the protein shake you'd already made for him.

you're quick to turn your attention to him anyway, grinning big and bright as you take the box of pastries from his hands, placing it on the counter before standing on your toes to kiss him. hands now free, he takes the opportunity to settle them on your hips, smiling as he steals a few more.

"you need to take a shower," you hum between kisses, though your hands are gripping his shoulders, pulling him closer. "too sweaty."

"join me?" he suggests, hands drifting down from your hips to grab handfuls of your ass.

"nice try, you had your fun last night." you tell him, iwaizumi laughing when you swat his hands away, rolling your eyes as you return to the scrambled eggs on the stove.

that doesn't stop him from wrapping his arms around you anyway, nosing at the column of your neck as you add a pinch of salt to the eggs.

"hajime," you whine as he takes the spatula from your hands, stealing a bite of eggs and humming with approval before dropping his sweaty forehead onto your shoulder, sighing dramatically. "if you shower now, maybe after breakfast we can--"

he doesn't even let you finish, pressing a kiss to your neck before heading towards the bathroom.

-

iwaizumi is finished hardly ten minutes later, out just in time to help you bring both plates of food out onto the sun-soaked patio.

it's funny, he thinks, as he watches you sip your coffee, basking in the warm morning sun. if he were on his own, he'd be standing at the counter scarfing down some more toast and chugging a smoothie whose consistency he can never seem to get right.

but sundays with you are sweet, soft, and syrupy, and he's sitting out on the patio watching your dog chase butterflies as he eats a butter croissant and sips at the perfectly blended smoothie you'd made for him.

you're his sole focus and he's yours. he listens as you talk about the book you're reading, about what's on your schedule next week. you laugh as he tells you some stupid story oikawa had called him about last night, and talks about what his plans are for team japan's conditioning session on tuesday.

it's always with a peek at your face and a fond smile that he realizes that sunday mornings with you are meant to be slow, and honestly?

he prefers it that way.

-

BONUS

when you'd said 'maybe after breakfast we could--' iwaizumi realizes he should've let you finish.

because now he's on his knees, and not in a sexy way. he's got rubber gloves on, armed with a sponge and scrubbing at the bottom of the bathtub.

maybe he wouldn't mind if you were the one bent over, but you're wiping at the mirror, going over the checklist of chores the two of you are going to tackle before noon.

iwaizumi just grunts his, 'yes, babe,' and doesn't complain. sundays with you? yeah, they're also cleaning days.

[nordic-language-love]

wow you're so cool! how do you keep up with (what i assume are all side hobbies on top of probably a regular job) all of the things you do in your logs, especially with adhd? I struggle a lot with executive dysfunction and would love any new tips! Also, moving to Japan, what prompted you to move and how?? Thanks in advance for answering, and also so cool!!!

Hahaha thanks for thinking I'm cool 😅 Well, I'm a part-time performing artist and aerial/pole dance instructor, so I'm always at the studio for teaching on Thursdays and Sundays if nothing else, and I'll typically train a bit before teaching and do some kind of stretching as part of my warm-up. Sometimes I go in on other days too because I'll need to cover classes or because I'll book on to classes. Having a commitment like a booked class definitely helps with motivation!

As for languages: a lot of the activities I do require minimal executive function (e.g. reviewing vocabulary on Anki, playing on an app, reading a fun little science article in Norwegian etc) and I often do them when I lack executive function elsewhere (e.g. when I've driven somewhere and I'm struggling to transition from being in my car to getting out of my car). So it's not really hard to do them even with executive dysfunction. I also try to squeeze in listening as a form of multitasking (listening to Japanese music or Norwegian radio while I'm driving/doing housework etc). And sometimes I hyperfocus! So I might study a language all day and not realise I've done it.

Sometimes having a strict schedule really works for me, so I might plan my day down to the minute. Other times it's too restrictive and I just kinda do what I want. At this point I've learned to embrace the bouncy brain and follow where my interests take me.

I've also learned to accept I might need to lower my expectations of myself just to get me started. A 1-hour exercise session seems daunting. 5 minutes "just moving" is a lot more manageable (and will very likely turn into a 1-hour session). I do this with housework too: rather than saying "I'm gonna unload the dishwasher now" I'll be like "I'm gonna take ONE thing out of the dishwasher and put it away". Giving myself permission to not complete tasks can help me get started (and often I do actually finish the task anyway).

I can also overcome executive dysfunction with the countdown method (when I remember to employ it lol). It's something I saw on tumblr, actually: whenever you decide you want to do something, count down from 5. By the time you've finished your countdown, you need to have moved in the direction of the thing you want to do. You don't have to start it; just move towards it. When I remember to do it, it works a good 95% of the time.

I do indeed have a job! I teach ESL on italki, which means I often have work to prepare the night before. I know that starting it too early is pointless, so I purposefully leave it until the last minute, because that's when I'll actually get it done. No "well I'll do it now so I can relax later". No feeling guilty for not doing it. I know and trust myself enough to get things once the deadline starts to loom.

As for Japan... it's a bit of a long story, but basically I've always wanted to live abroad, and I got a TEFL certificate in 2020. I looked at places I could go, Japan came up as one of the best countries in terms of pay and living standard. So, I sent out some inquiries, got an interview and then a job offer. Didn't end up taking it for a bunch of reasons, but then a few months ago they got back in touch asking me if I'd like to reopen my application and I decided to accept this time. So, off I go in January!

Anyway, that was an essay! My apologies 😅 Good luck with your executive dysfunction! It can be a real bitch to overcome, but it's possible with practice and trial & error!

[mooni-bunni]

AOT with a Black S/O

A/N: There are SO many characters I want to do so this is definitely going to be a part one. Please know that I’m going off of MY ✨black experience✨ so if I mention something that you don’t do or experience, then idk, write your own. 🤨

CW: Modern AU, Black!Reader, Reader is female oriented,

TW: some light racism mentions.

Eren Jaeger

I’m going to start this off by saying Eren is completely into ethnic women.

If it’s not the way your skin glows under the summer sun, it’s definitely the goddamn brown eyes that are just BEAUTIFUL MAN.

He won’t say it, but he is such a nerd for learning more about your culture. Learns a lot about black history and excitedly tells you the new stuff he learned. He gets so happy when he learns about inventions by black people too.

He gets really mad about a lot of social issues though. He’s a really good listener when it comes to you voicing your feelings about something that’s happened in the community. Definitely an unapologetic activist.

Take him to a predominantly black church, watch him be all awkward but tapping his toes. He’ll tell you after that he really enjoyed it and had a lot of fun. He may not be feeling the Holy Ghost, but he is definitely going with you on sunday just to enjoy it with you

Over all, he just loves you so much, he gets to experience so,etching new every single day and he loves it. Especially when it comes to music, food, and clothing. Dress him up please, he likes it. Use him as a wig stand too.

Armin Arlert

Please, he was doing research on black culture before you were even dating. 🤨🖐🏾

When you started dating, you were definitely surprised by how much he actually knows about black culture. It’s all because he wanted to make sure he never says anything to you that makes you upset. If he has questions about something, he is going right to those books and the internet. He’s also not afraid to ask you questions but he would prefer to not burden you with the responsibility of educating him.

If you grew up in a predominantly white neighborhood, he tries his best to make you feel comfortable about being your most authentic self and not washing yourself down for him. He doesn’t like it when you hold yourself back or fix your speech so that he can understand you better, he’ll fight you to be yourself. USE YOUR AAVE AND TEACH HIM.

He really likes the way you talk. He takes note of any little inflectional accented letters in the words you speak. He will use words like “bussin” and “Chile” in the wrong way, so please just… stop him, he’s trying his best.

He’s also really into African American protective hairstyles and why they are important

Definitely sits down with you and helps you with your hair. He’s not the best with it, but he is definitely helpful. Like he’ll at least hold stuff for you or let you use his hand as the pallet for the grease or gel. If you’re a wig wearer, he likes being the model while you shape it. If you’ve got an Afro, he’s buying you the cutest bonnets to wear at night.

Mikasa Ackerman

The thing she loves so much about you is how she’s able to swap cultural experiences with you. 🥺

She grew up in a half Asian household and has a lot of things to share. The fact that she gets to mix her culture with yours is incredible to her. Especially with food because traditional Japanese dishes with traditional African American foods is fun to combine

She is really into r&b music, too. Swapping music with her is so much fun because she finds some new artists she’s never heard of before. She really likes Destiny’s Child

Asks you a lot of questions, too. It’s always light hearted and she means so well. She wants to know more about your family, the dynamic, what kinds of struggles you went through, the celebrations.

Bring her to parties and family functions, she is a visual and hands on learner.

Calls you beautiful every single day. There’s not a single thing about you that she doesn’t love.

Jean Kirschtein

Jean definitely gets quite the culture shock when you first start living together.

Mainly because of the food. He is not used to any cuisine that as a little spice in it. The first time you cool all the fixings for him, he is overwhelmed. It smells so good and some is familiar, but he’s never had them in this way.

He’s eating all of it anyways honey. He’s telling you it’s BUSSIN. Every fuckin meal, bro, he is saying it. Y’all can’t even go to cookouts because he says it so loud, tell him to STOP. (But don’t because it sounds funny and he’s just trying to express his love for soul food.)

OH AND DANCING. BRO. He learns a lot about how dances were ripped off from black people and he asks you to teach him the correct way to do it, if you know how. If not, he’ll happily teach you. He loves the history of it, too.

He is very active as an ally and does a lot of work to make sure the community you guys live in is accepting and safe for you and everyone else.

It really does take him a minute to get into the swing of daily life, but he is so happy he met you and that you let him in.

Sasha Braus

You already know I’m going to say food with this girl.

The way she is tearing up a plate the first time you cook food for her is a little animalistic. She licks that shit CLEAN. Some soul food at a party is going to be nonexistent if you bring her.

She may not be the brightest girl, but movies are definitely her thing. She likes it when you show her some movies directed by black people like Jordan Peele or Tyler Perry. One of her favorite movies is Dream Girls.

She also asks a lot of questions. (Ahem, her with Onyankopon…) It’s always her trying to learn more but they sometimes come off as a little uhhhhh… you know…. Like that. Don’t worry though, explain things to her and she is immediately apologetic for even asking.

You might have to teach her a few things though, I’m not gonna lie.

Take her to a family reunion or a Juneteenth celebration party, trust me she’ll enjoy herself.

Levi Ackerman

Surprisingly the thing he enjoys the best is the music.

You’d think with his classical tea loving ass, he’d be a little weary with the music, but no! He actually really likes old hip hop and rap. New age is not his favorite, but he likes artist like Tupac, Biggie, Jay Z, Old Kanye. Don’t be surprised to see him rapping randomly. I’ll stand by this.

He’s also really good with hair. Like surprisingly good with it. Like, he could actually just do your hair and you will probably never have to go to a salon ever.

He saw you struggling with yours one morning and noticed how expensive it was for you to get yours done, so he literally went out to any black owned salon and asked if they could teach him how it’s done. For weeks he just spent his free time learning how to do textured hair, which products were good, which ones were harmful, how to style, all of it. He came home one day and saw you booking an appointment to get yours done and told you he could do it. Success.

He also learns your favorite soul food meals. Spends time with your family to learn how you like it.

Overall, Levi isn’t great with words but he shows you he loves you by doing these extravagant things for your that’s how you know he cares about you and how important your heritage is.

A/N: this was so cute wahhh. Idk why I’m worried about being canceled when I’m black- also sorry for any typos I miss.

[estellamiraiauthor]

The Stars May Rise and Fall: The Annotated Re-read (Chapter 3)

Before I dive into chapter 3, I wanted to give a BIG thanks to everyone who has actually read and interacted with the first two installments of this. (Chapter 1 is here, and Chapter 2 is here, for those who need to catch up!) I was not really expecting this to get any reactions… just thought I’d do it for fun, but knowing that people are actually enjoying this makes me even happier!

Sooo… Chapter 3. This is probably my least favorite chapter (though it definitely wasn’t the most painful to write; that would be 14 and 15), and looking back at the earliest draft I still have a copy of, it sadly hasn’t changed a lot since then (although it used to be Chapter 5, a lot of filler was cut!). Spoilers start below, click if you dare!

The chapter opens with a sort of montage of Teru trying to forget about Rei’s song. I’m actually really curious as to how this resonates with neurotypical readers (if I even HAVE any neurotypical readers?? LOL) because in retrospect, it’s definitely based on something I go through when I find a new “obsession” or rediscover an old one… it becomes literally all I can think about, and depending on whether a new obsession at the moment would fill a void or just get in the way of the rest of my life, I sometimes try to deny it like Teru is. This part used to be a lot longer, actually showing little scenes from his life, but all of that got trimmed down when I decided I wanted to try to actually publish this. Doesn’t feel like much of a loss, though. I think we get enough little snippets of their daily lifestyles by the end?

The first part of the chapter I think does do a lot to establish Teru’s character. Rei calls him and talks about sharing his song with the rest of the band at rehearsal, but Teru isn’t sure that he’s going to. He has the sheet music in his bag, though… so a part of him wants to, but he hasn’t quite convinced himself that he’s going to have the guts to bring it up. A lot of early readers didn’t really like how “wishy-washy” he can be sometimes but… not every protagonist has to be bold and pro-active. And I think Teru does grow and is able to stick up for what he wants when it’s really important later on. He’s just not quite sure whether this is important enough to stick his neck out for yet, which makes sense, since he literally met Rei like a week ago.

So Rei asks Teru to see him again after the show on Sunday, and again Teru feels like he’s doing something forbidden by saying yes… and he is. He’s essentially going behind his bandmates’ backs and being a part of Rei’s plan to turn the band into what he wants it to be, and then there’s the whole “going to a stranger’s house” (like, he KNOWS that’s not normal, I think that’s pretty well established), and then, what he doesn’t even want to admit to himself yet, that he is kind of attracted to Rei… So, yes, very forbidden in a couple of ways.

Up to this point, the chapter is not terrible. I go back and forth on whether I like or hate the line “the seventeen-year-old thrill of his first fuck”. Some early readers really loved it. Some said it was vulgar. I ended up leaving it in because I think he’s both simultaneously equating the forbidden-ness of seeing Rei with the ACT of sex and with the WORD, and very very very subconsciously trying to convince himself that sex with women falls into the same category as smoking (also mentioned as forbidden) and singing for Rei―i.e. something forbidden that he enjoys.

But anyway, it’s the second part that I really… well, as I said, “regret” is a strong word, but let’s just say that if I ever had the opportunity to rewrite this (say, as a teleplay for an anime or something, how cool would that be?), this scene would unfold a little differently.

So, Teru has Rei’s sheet music in his bag, and I think it’s again very telling of his character that he doesn’t actually SHOW it to the rest of the band, but they see it anyway and ask him what it is, and they start messing around with it while they wait for Bara, the singer, to show up.

Now, I think this scene really suffers from the same kinds of issues as Chapter 1, in that I originally was planning to publish this as a Phantom fanfic and was just really, really concerned with hitting certain notes from previous versions of the story. So this was supposed to fill the role of the “Notes” songs from the Lloyd Webber musical, or the letters from the Phantom in Leroux’s original novel. It doesn’t really work here, though, because in both of those versions of the story, Erik/the Phantom had been extorting the managers of the opera house for a LONG TIME, and while the new managers may not have believed all of the stories, people like Meg Giry and Joseph Buquet did… also, those notes didn’t even really WORK. The managers put Carlotta in the lead ANYWAY, even after the Phantom told them not too, so he made her croak like a toad onstage.

In this story, Minori and the rest of the band have no idea that Rei even exists at this point and definitely have no reason to do what he says. I was at least aware that THAT wouldn’t work, and had him kind of cyber-harass Bara instead.. but this is a super weak link in the story, and I know it. All Bara would’ve had to do was call Minori and ask what was up to figure out that it wasn’t him, and who really cares what an anonymous online stalker thinks? It also seems super petty and childish of Rei, and there were just better options.

If I had it to do over again, I’d probably just have Bara walk in as they were messing around with the song, maybe with Teru or Minori trying to sing along, and get pissed that Minori (as far as Bara knew) had written ANOTHER song that was completely out of Bara’s range and skill set. That’s a legitimate complaint―if you’re writing a song for a specific singer you really ought to try to cater it to what they CAN do as a vocalist, and Minori definitely isn’t innocent in their feud if you think of it that way. Since I had already established that their relationship was strained BEFORE all this happened and that Bara is an insufferable diva, that could’ve been enough to drive him to quit.

Otherwise, Rei has access to the equipment at the venue―he could’ve done the electronic equivalent of making Bara croak like a toad or whatever, if I’d really wanted to stick to the original story. Or he could’ve dropped a neon lightning bolt from the rafters and fried him a la Beef from Phantom of the Paradise… but murder is probably even more out of character than random cyber-stalking is. ;-)

I guess what I DID want to establish in this scene is that Rei is very good at A) emotionally manipulating people and B) computer stuff, and that Teru and most of the rest of the band is NOT really computer literate. That ended up becoming less important in edits, I think, but it was partly to stave off complaints like “Why didn’t Teru just Google Rei’s band to find out what happened to them?” (which no one ever actually complained about, and I’ll come back to another reason why he didn’t do what he could’ve done to find out more about them later) and also to just sort of establish how Rei DOES things. It would’ve been very difficult, technology-wise, to basically order everything online and work completely from home at this period of time, but not impossible, especially because he can and does physically go out when there’s no other option, and has Chizuru to actually sign the record deals and things.

ANYWAY, as awkwardly as it happens, the end result is achieved―Bara quits, and Yasu, who was kind of originally supposed to be the “fanfic Meg Giry” of the thing but of course grew into a much deeper and more interesting character (sorry Meg?), gets the “Christine Daae could sing it, sir!” moment―establishing at the same time that this isn’t really out of nowhere. Teru doesn’t really LIKE to sing in front of strangers, but he was known in high school for being good at karaoke.

I also made a point to mention here that Teru isn’t as good at the metal-style screaming as Bara is… this was PARTLY a nod to “I’m a singer, not a screamer!” from Phantom of the Paradise, but also just to set up that in this particular style of music, screaming (at least if you can do it in a vaguely musical way) IS a skill, and that Bara also has strengths that Teru doesn’t, kind of leading into the rivalry between the two bands that develops later on.

Whew! So, I’m actually kind of glad that I went back and did a deep read of this chapter. I still think the “Notes” thing doesn’t work, and I’ll definitely change it for that hypothetical anime, but there actually are a lot of things in this chapter I’m proud of too.

[thenighttcat]

On not bombing your pants, feeling left out, and unsuccessful attempts at being cool.

Dear Miss A,

Hope that you are having a fun time in Canada. It sure seems so from your photos on Instagram, but one can never be certain about the reality of things from what is posted on Instagram. It took me a long time to begin writing this letter. It's funny how as you go about the week, there can be so many times when you tell yourself - hey, I should tell Miss A about this or that, and you'd imagine pouring out your thoughts freely on paper when Sunday comes along, but then now when it's actually time to do so, I find myself tongue-tied. Or rather, fingers-tied.

Maybe I'm just a bad writer.

I'll just begin with a completely random observation, whih is this:

One of the most dreadful dilemmas to find yourself in is needing to take a shit and the journey to the toilet.

On one hand, for obvious reasons, you're in an urgent need to get to the toilet so you won't bomb your pants (or worse, the pavement sweeping rapidly beneath you), but then the faster you walk, the more you seem to activate the muscles of the intestine that holds your poop (the rectum?), which only serves to aggravate the need for you to be at the toilet ASAP. Alright, it's a bit of a disgusting observation, but that just happens to be on my mind right now. Don't ask me why.

Anyway, I was going down the corridor this morning at the theatre when, coming in the opposite direction, were the director and Tricia, one of the new actresses. She has a slender figure and a charming, innocent face. They walked past me, engaged in conversation, with such haste that they left a breeze in their wake, and a lingering feeling of being left out. It's a feeling that returns to me now and again, the feeling of always being trapped in the periphery, peeking through the glass with cupped hands at everyone having fun, and never being part of the action yourself.

I'm so juvenile.

In other news, Bertrand is constructing a terrarium. He wanders through parks and hidden forests to find plants and bugs for his little universe. He's the coolest person I know. I once tried to be cool too. I dyed my hair blue, although it turned out green. My friends said it made my hair look like moss. I don't try to be cool anymore.

[lihikainanea]

LEIIII, CAN WE PLEASE TALK ABOUT BILL AND TIGER GOING THE THE MET GALA BILL FuCkINg HeR iN ThE ReStRoOm????????????????

FIRST OF ALL, I have this like, weird interest in fashion over the past two years or so. I've never particularly been into it, but now my instagram is mainly fashion inspo and like, who is this person???? I've never considered myself fashionable, much less interested in fashion and now I swear to god I spend Sunday afternoons ~judging people~ and looking up latest fashion trends and how to wear things and I am just LOVING IT. And since nobody asked, I'm going to go ahead and list you my top fucking fashion ABSOLUTELY DO FUCKING NOT pet peeves:

1) Matching pantsuits. Hello, no. I know the designers that are trying to bring this back, and it's a hard no for me dawg. I am in my almost mid thirties and I ain't trying to look like a fucking old maid, thanks. These will never be fashionable. Just stop.

2) Derby shoes. These literally don't go with anything. I'm not sorry. If you're that committed to huge, clunky, ugly fucking shoes, get clogs. I ain't saying you have to wear heels, not at all. But find yourself some nice oxfords, a nice loafer, hell even some mules--and they will be infinitely nicer than fucking derby shoes.

3) Layering. No, kids. Baum und Pferdgarten, I love you. I do. I have a few of your dresses. But ya'll motherfuckers need to stop with this pajama-esque, mixed and clashing pattern, oversized bullshit looks that you call fashion. There is a way to wear slouchy, and babes, THAT AIN'T IT. YOU LITERALLY LOOK LIKE A FUCKING WARHOL PAINTING THREW UP ON YOU. Mixing patterns is cool, we like that, but Jesus Christ it has to have some consistency.

alright, now onto the actual ask.

All of this to say, I kept a keen eye on the Met Gala this year and I was...perplexed. At best. Horrified, at worst.

So like, tiger right? There's little else in the world that tiger hates as much as Bill's outwardly Hollywood side. The parties. The schmoozing. And I mean, she knows it's part of his life so that's fine, but in fairness--Bill also abhors this side. He loathes it. And he's been to the Met gala once, which notoriously never allows a +1 unless that +1 is famous, but low and behold--by some stroke of luck--Bill's invitation this year allows for it.

"No." tiger says immediately.

"You don't even know what I'm going to ask!" he exclaims.

"I know what that is," she points to the invitation in his hand, "And no."

It's a hard no. It takes Bill weeks--because like, tiger ain't Hollywood. She doesn't want to do the dress. She doesn't want the mingling with fucking celebrity guests. She doesn't want the paparazzi. She wants none of it. But like, eventually--after so much begging--eventually Bill gets her to agree. His stylist will get a dress for her. Hair and make up is taken care of. Bill promises her that she can just slip in the back, sit at the table, and have cocktails to her heart's galore while he walks the red carpet. She doesn't have to be photographed--and truth be told, tiger's a nobody so people aren't really interested in photographing her anyway. That's fine by her.

The dress worries her, because tiger isn't exactly celebrity material but the stylist is so kind in taking measurements. Bill handles everything--the flights, the make up reservations, the hair appointments. On the day of, he checks them into the Bowery Hotel and then tiger doesn't have to worry about a thing. He shoves a fluffy robe at her, and then there's just a flurry of activity--massages first. Breakfast after. A stint in the steam room--which they absolutely have sex in. Facials. Manicures--for both. A light lunch. And then the bell rings and in come a flurry of a team ready to glamorize them--Bill's favourite groomer, his stylist, tiger's make up artist, her hair stylist. The primping process is the longest tiger has ever been through--but there's wine, there's snacks, her Big Dude is right beside her looking handsome as all hell. And when tiger puts on a dress that is worth more than she makes in a year, when her hair is all done up and her make up is perfect--she begrudgingly admits to him that yes, Beeeeeel, she does feel pretty.

"You look stunning kid," he praises, pressing a gentle kiss on her cheek. To her slight embarrassment (but secret joy), he hands his phone off to his assistant and asks for a few pictures.

And like, here's the thing right? The Met Gala has a strict policy: no spouses or couples seated together. Seriously, it's a thing. Look it up. And while tiger is mildly freaking out about that, she calms down considerably when she does see a name tag at her table that she recognizes.

Alex. Skarsgård.

Tiger smiles, Bill grimaces.

And that's what starts it, right? Bill is at a table far away but not too far, and right where he can keep her in his line of sights. He knows she wasn't looking forward to this so he wants to keep an eye on her, but then like....why the fuck does she look like she's having so much fun? Alex is cracking the whole table up, being his usual charismatic self. Tiger is laughing, guffawing actually, beyond control--her hand on his, clutching his forearm. Bill barely even makes conversation with his own table, he's staring so intently at the two of them and tiger looking like she's having the best night of her life.

Bill's blood is boiling. It boils even more when he sees tiger make a face at her main plate--her nose wrinkling, her lip curled in disgust--and without missing a beat Alex's fork swoops over, plucks all the green onions from her food, and tiger smiles gratefully at him. Bill slams his napkin down on the table.

"Excuse me," he mutters in response to the curious glances. And then he stalks over, heads right to her table, and he's so silent that she jumps a mile when she hears his voice in her ear from behind her.

"A word, kid?" he says.

"But the food just--"

"Now." he says insistently. He holds a hand out to her, helps her push her chair back and stand. But then he's basically dragging her to a restroom, and poor tiger isn't quite used to heels this high.

"Hang on bud," she pleads, "I'm not that coordinated."

But he doesn't hang on. Instead he reaches back, loops a strong arm around her waist and basically carries her on his side to the bathroom. Tiger's feet don't hit the floor for a good 200 feet. And once inside the bathroom, he locks the door and glares at her.

"If that dress wasn't couture, I'd have you on your fucking knees kid," he threatens. Tiger's eyes get wide.

"What did I do?" she asks innocently. Bill just glares.

"Having a good time, are you? Having the best night ever?" he accuses.

Tiger is starting to get a feeling what this is about, and oh man--she's about to rile her Big Dude up. Dressed to the nines, in a public place, surrounded by riches, and Bill is about to get a bit possessive over her? Tiger is a sucker for it every time.

"Yes," she plays into it, "Alex is being amazing. He's so--"

She doesn't get to finish the sentence, because Bill growls and lunges for her, pinning her back against the cool tile.

"You are mine," he snarls. Tiger just tilts her chin up, bites onto his bottom lip.

"Prove it." she challenges.

The roar Bill lets out is fucking feral. Tiger doesn't even have time to react before her dress is pulled up, he yanks his belt undone, and he's slamming into her. She moans, and he grabs her face in his hand.

"Don't come," he snarls, "Don't you dare come."

And like the good girl she is for him--she doesn't. She grits her teeth, tries to stave it off even as he slams deep into her, growls as his release fills her up, bites her neck hard enough to leave a mark. She whimpers, her knees wobbly, and tries to reach for a tissue.

"No," he grabs her hand.

"But it's messy," she pleads. But another glare is enough to silence her, and he swiftly pulls her panties up, smoothes her dress back down.

"You're going to sit there, full of my come for the rest of the night," he tells her, "And I want you to think of that, I want you to feel it, every time you look at him."

"Bill--" she whimpers. He silences her with a rough kiss.

"Go on," he said, "Back to your seat."

On shaky legs, she turns and tries to walk out as nonchalant as possible. He waits a few minutes before exiting, going to find his seat and sitting back down. He keeps an eye on her for the rest of the evening, but he doesn't even have to--every time he looks over at her, she's already staring at him--her eyes wide, needy, her knees pressed tightly together.

[fairyhee]

Chocolate eclairs (pt.1)

“Aren’t you a Valentine’s day hater, though?”

“Only because I don’t have a date and I’m bitter about it, but you can change that.”

🍫optional bias x reader (h/n means his name)

🍫enemies to lovers, kinda slow burn?, flirting (smut in pt.2)

🍫inspired by: 5sos-valentine

[I know Valentine’s Day has already passed but I got this idea while daydreaming a few days ago and I couldn’t help myself. And also maybe I love this made-up celebration a bit too much and I don’t want to accept it’s over. If you dislike cheesy stuff this might not be for you lmao]

When it comes to Valentine’s, people are always either hardcore fans or hardcore haters. While you were definitely part of the first category, you just couldn’t understand how anyone can dislike a celebration that’s meant to spread love. And also, the pretty lingerie, the sweets, the champagne and the sex, hello?? You would have them any day of the year if you could. And if you had someone to celebrate with, in the first place.

As for people in the other category, they could hate it all they want but in your eyes they were probably just painfully single. Not that you weren’t, but you never wanted to let that spoil the fun. So what if you were single? What one can do with a partner, you could very well do on your own. So every year you made plans to do everything you wanted, but on a solo date instead of with somebody else. Love yourself first, right?

So on the morning of february 14th, after you were done with your self-pampering ritual, you stepped out for coffee and pancakes. The plan was that after breakfast, you would stop by the lingerie store and treat yourself to a nice set, then buy some sweets from the french bakery, then go home and get all dolled up for the evening, when you had reserved a table at a pink-themed restaurant, beautifully situated on the top floor of one of the highest buildings in your town. It was definitely among the most popular spots for that day, but you couldn’t care less that you were going by yourself. You could have gone with one of your girl friends, if they weren’t all already taken and spending the day “watching netflix”.

Thinking about the peaceful day that was ahead of you, you had almost reached your first destination. Your favorite cafe held an event today and served red pancakes with chocolate hearts as a special menu, as well as v-day themed coffee cups that you couldn’t wait to take photos of. As you entered the cafe, you spotted a familiar silhouette by the counter. He didn’t have to turn around for you to confirm it was him, because as soon as you heard him order his ice americano, your perfect day was already ruined. It was h/n. 

Instead of saying hi, you groaned as you approached the counter. “Who drinks iced coffee in february? You have serious issues.”

He turned around, seemingly suprised to see you at first, but he quickly got to back to his usual self. “Only cool people can drink iced coffee, you wouldn’t understand. And also, a ‘good morning’ would have been enough.”

“It was good until I saw you, so now I can’t say that anymore, can I?” you said while scanning the menu. “One rose lemonade and the special strawberry pancakes with fresh cream, please.”

From where he was standing, you heard a dramatic gasp. “How can you tell me I have issues when you ingest so much sugar from this early in the day? If this is what you have for breakfast, what the hell are you having for dinner?” You wanted to slap that overly exaggerated shocked expression off his face.

“None of your fucking business. Now if you don’t mind I’m gonna walk to my table and go on with my day. If I spend another minute with you I’m afraid it might turn bitter and cold, like you and your beloved americano.”

You were beyond irritated that you had to put up with his shit today, too. You had met h/n at a party during university because of a mutual friend, and you immediately found out you had absolutely nothing in common, except both wanting to excel in your field and to be right at all times. Both of you had strong opinions and just wouldn’t back down. Every time you met, your personalities clashed, and the useless arguments and snarky remarks wouldn’t stop coming. It certainly didn’t help that he was so handsome and so good at what he did (he was a singer in a band) and that everyone else always complimented and admired him, because that made his ego grow and everything just annoyed you even more. Handsome boys always had to be over-confident and you hated that with a passion. The worst part was that he had every right to be confident, but you would never admit that. You weren’t sure what his opinion was of you but you didn’t care to know.

While you were sat at your table, scrolling through your phone and trying to block the previous conversation from re-entering your mind, he just casually sat down across from you at the table, putting down not one, but two iced americanos.

For a few seconds you stared at him blankly. “Can I know what the fuck are you doing?”

“I’m gonna try to convince you that americano is the best coffee.”

“Ha, nice try. What makes you think I would even try it? It’s way too cold outside to drink. Haven’t I told you I don’t want bitterness in my life?”

He smirked. “I asked the barista to put 3 pumps of sugar syrup in it so it can be at least remotely drinkable for you. You will also need someone to watch over you, since I expect you to have a heart attack from all the sweetness, so, before you ask me to, no, I don’t want to leave your drink here and fuck off. So since you’ll be stuck with me until you finish your breakfast, tell me, what have I done to make you dislike me so much?” he placed his chin on his left hand and took a sip of his americano. “I’m curious.” rather than annoyed with you, he looked rather playful.

“Wow, you seem to be having a lot of fun interrupting my day. Glad at least one of us is having a good time. If you want me to touch that drink, you better take out at least half of that amount of ice cubes. After that, we can talk.”

You didn’t expect him to actually do what you said, but he stood up without a word and slowly walked to the counter to ask the barista to fix it. He was so tall, that the strings of the heart shaped helium balloons that were floating around the ceiling reached his eyes, so he walked around the cafe shielding his face with his hand. Why did you find that cute all of a sudden? It’s like you had just realized that his height was very attractive to you. When he turned around, you were smiling at him.

He gave you a wide-eyed look while he was placing your drink down for the second time. “Now you’re smiling at me? Did the sugar from those pancakes get to your brain already?”

“It’s just kinda funny seeing you between all those heart-shaped pink balloons after our last argument.” He had argued that all these holidays, like Halloween, V-day, Mother’s day and so on are made up for purely capitalist purposes and people who celebrate just feed into the consumerism. Besides, his social media posts had appeared on your feed the other day, because he had shared a bunch of memes poking fun at the cheesy traditions. “So what are you doing here today anyway, I thought you were a Valentine’s day hater?” 

“Only because I don’t have a date and I’m bitter about it, like you said. But you can change that.”

You quickly looked up from your plate to check for any sign that he’s joking, but he definitely wasn’t laughing. His eyebrow was cocked up and an annoying smirk was planted on his face. He looked so hot, it was absurd.

His proposal, combined with your own thoughts, made you burst into laughter. You were annoyed at the fact that you were considering it. “Aren’t you getting a bit ahead of yourself? Of course I can change that, but do you really think I will?” you asked ironically. You took a sip of the iced americano, hoping it would cool down your brain and help you think straight again.

He smiled. “I don’t know, but the fact that I just made you laugh is a good sign. Also,” he said pointing at the coffee, “you just drank that and didn’t complain. You just accepted my drink and I got you convinced it’s not bad, both at the same time. That’s three wins in a row for me.”

Shit, he was right.

“I love it when you talk back to me, so I’m almost feeling sorry I left you without any comeback to that.”, he laughed. “So what other plans do you have today? What else do I have to try to ruin?”

“Oh, just a bunch of uninteresting things. I’m sure a self-proclaimed cool dude like yourself would be bored just hearing about it.” That was it. Your defense had fallen, you were actually starting to like him, but you still wouldn’t admit it, so now you were adamant to prove you were completely uninterested in him and he didn’t affect you even in the slightest. You were even willing to accept him tagging along when you went shopping if he wanted. Half because you wanted to spend more time with him without actually accepting his half-hearted date proposal, and half because you wanted him to think you don’t care even if he tries to bother you.

“Well, I don’t have anything better to do today. You asked me what I’m doing here, I actually simply came to get coffee. So do you mind if I come with you? Annoying you is more fun than doing nothing on a sunday.” 

Perfect, you thought. You fake-rolled your eyes. “Whatever. You’ve already ruined my day, it can’t get worse no matter how much you’ll talk. Let’s go shopping, I know men are absolutely crazy over this activity, so let’s see how much fun you’ll have there.”

“Try me.” he said while finishing his drink. 

You smiled and, having finished your breakfast, you stood up.“You might want to have another americano to-go, to keep you from getting tainted with my sweetness. Get up, we’re going to buy chocolate eclairs.”

...

part 2

[cactusnymph]

Prompt fill #5 for @dimension20alphabet:

Escape

[part two to this]

Usually it goes like this:

 The Bad Kids eat lunch together in the cafeteria and otherwise Fabian doesn’t talk much to any of them over the course of his day. It’s not like he’s actively ignoring them, but he’s more on the side of the popular kids. The cool guys. The jocks.

 Meanwhile, the others—well, maybe except for Fig—don’t exactly fit the bill.

 Sure, Fabian would die for any of them, but somehow the social structures at school still feel restrictive in a way that gives him a hard time moving against them.

 Now though, now the unthinkable has happened.

 The Ball is ignoring him.

 Well, not as much as ignoring Fabian as he’s actively fleeing from him the second Fabian comes into view. At first Fabian thought that The Ball had just forgotten something in his locker when he turned around and ran—ran—in the opposite direction of Fabian.

 But it happens again during the first break and Riz is not at their usual table when Fabian joins the others for lunch.

 Everyone is looking at him.

 “What?”, he asks.

 His mood was bad all weekend. After the ridiculous dare he received on Theo’s party The Ball was nowhere to be seen. Both Adaine and Theo—Theo of all people, as if he was The Ball’s friend—followed him out of the room while everyone continued to stare at Fabian accusingly.

 Even Gorgug looked somewhat perturbed, like it was Fabian’s fault that a room full of people had chanted about him kissing The Ball. That hadn’t been his idea!

 “Hey man, you know, you could’ve said ‘no’ without making it sound like, you know, Riz was like, a slimy ghoul or whatever”, Ragh had said to him quietly.

 As far as Fabian knows, Theo and The Ball had ended up making out in one of the empty rooms or behind the house. Those pictures in his head didn’t lead to his weekend getting any better either.

 He trained way too much with his mother. He ate so many kippers that Cathilda asked him if he was feeling alright—which he wasn’t, but he couldn’t exactly explain why. He went for a run three times on Sunday and was still feeling on edge about everything that had happened.

 In the end he crashed on his bed with sore muscles and a scene of The Ball and Theo kissing playing on repeat in his mind that followed him into his dreams.

 And now his friends were looking at him as if he had personally murderer The Ball. With his bare hands. For fun.

 “Did you talk to Riz?”, Adaine wants to know.

 “No.”

 Silence answers him and he looks around the table.

 “What? He saw me in the hallway, turned around and ran away!”, Fabian exclaims angrily. His face is getting hot. He hates all this emotional bullshit and almost wishes he could just go back to being his father’s darling boy instead of his own man, because somehow that seemed way easier.

 “Oh no. Poor Riz”, Kristen says and Fabian almost loses his shit right there.

 Why is it ‘poor Riz’? Why is no one acknowledging what a shit weekend he had? And how fucking dumb that dare was? And how it’s offensive to consider that Riz and Theo made out behind the house while Fabian was being stared at like someone who strangles puppies? And also, he fucking hates it to be ignored.

 He is Fabian Aramais Seacaster.

 He refuses to be ignored!

 “Did you try to text him to apologize?”, Gorgug asks.

 Fabian stares at him.

 “For what?”

 “I mean. You know, because. He looked pretty hurt and like. Isn’t he your best friend?”, Gorgug says quietly and Fabian feels like someone has dropped an iron weight into his stomach.

 “I mean, I guess we’re friends, I wouldn’t go as far as to say that, you know—best friends is maybe a little—“

 A voice in his head whispers “Why would you say that, isn’t that a lie?” but Fabian doesn’t get to listen to it as Fig lowers her fork and looks past Fabian at someone right behind him.

 “Oh, no”, Gorgug says very quietly and Kristen gets up halfway from her chair which leads Fabian to turn around just to be faced with The Ball’s very pale and very unhappy face. For a split second Fabian has the opportunity to notice that Riz looks as if he hasn’t slept or eaten for the past two days, but then he notices Fabian looking at him and escapes immediately.

 “Okay, Fabian, I know talking about your feelings is super fucking hard and everything, but get a grip, man”, Fig snaps at him.

 “My feelings are perfectly fine, thank you”, Fabian grits through his teeth but he doesn’t touch the rest of his food and instead spends the rest of his lunch break cursing the universe for having The Ball turn up right at that moment when Fabian announced that them being best friends might be a bit of a stretch.

 Fabian never really had a best friend before.

 Fuck if he knows what that’s even supposed to mean.

 Riz always just went ahead and announced it to the whole world after they’d barely known each other for a week and back then it had been completely ludicrous.

 Now, though.

 Fabian doesn’t know.

 He might have announced that toxic masculinity is dead, but the truth is that it’s still hard dealing with all this emotional bullshit when no one ever really taught him how it works. And he’ll rather be shot than admit that. At least for now.

 It was hard enough to deal with the fact that he never really did anything on his own and was nothing but a pale shadow of his father, but now that he managed to work through that, everything else was still as difficult as before.

 And who the fuck are you supposed to talk to about these things?

 His father is a madman flying a dead dragon through hell.

 His mother heats up whole cantaloupes in hot pans, because she doesn’t even know how to cook some fucking scrambled eggs.

 Cathilda would probably know a thing or two about this stuff, but Fabian has yet to fully grow into the whole Cathilda-is-basically-his-surrogate-mother-and-not-just-his-maid-thing.

 And how is he going to explain this whole mess anyway?

 “Hey Cathilda, I went to this party and someone told me to kiss The Ball and I was like ‘No, that’s ridiculous’ and now everyone is acting like I’m a complete asshole and The Ball doesn’t talk to me anymore, which is quite frankly offensive, because he always says that I’m his fucking best friend.”

 Even to Fabian that sounds ridiculous. And it doesn’t take into account his obsessive thoughts about Theo and Riz kissing or how The Ball might have overheard Fabian saying that they’re not best friends. And his bloodshot eyes with dark shadows under them. And his pale green face with all those freckles.

 And...

 Fabian decides that school can suck his dick on this terrible Monday and he leaves the Aguefort Academy directly after lunch break instead of going to his fighter class.

 It’s not like he needs it, anyway.

 He could probably wipe the floor with his teacher at this point.

 On his way home he receives multiple text messages from his friends.

 “Hey Fabian, where are you? Are you okay?”, from Gorgug.

 “Just text him”, from Adaine.

 “Maybe Jawbone can help you out, he’s really good at this relationship stuff”, from Kristen.

 Relationship stuff?

 What relationship stuff?

 The Ball is not his boyfriend.

 Fabian laughs as he passes a mother with her two kids and she looks slightly concerned about his well being and tugs her children further down the sidewalk.

 What if The Ball wants Theo to be his boyfriend?

 Fabian stops in the middle of the road and stares at his phone. He doesn’t want to talk to Jawbone. Sure, Jawbone is cool and everything. But talking to Jawbone feels too much like admitting that he might have a serious problem, more so than if he maybe just talks to one of his friends.

 For a split second Fabian thinks that wants to talk to Riz until he remembers that that’s not possible right now.

 Because Riz doesn’t talk to him. And also Riz wouldn’t want to talk about anything related to kissing or—or—

 Fabian stuffs his crystal back into his pocket and turns a corner that leads him towards Mordred Manor instead of home.

 Ragh is outside in the vast garden of the manor, wearing a straw hat and some shorts and nothing else while he waters some plants.

 “Hey, what’s up, bro?”, he calls over to Fabian, turns the hose and hits Fabian square in the chest with a jet of cold water. It only takes a few seconds until he’s completely drenched.

 Ragh laughs loudly while he turns off the water and throws the hose down into the grass.

 “You good, man?”, Ragh asks as he walks over to him. Fabian feels like on any other day he might have simply punched Ragh in the face for getting his expensive sneakers wet, but today it just seems like maybe he deserved a shower of cold water.

 “Um—yeah. No. I don’t really know”, he says and his voice reminds him of the time when the whole Leviathan debacle went down. He clears his throat and wipes some water out of his face. “Do you—uh. Have some time to talk?”

 “Sure, dude. Let’s find a spot with a little more shade.”

 Fabian hates the feeling of water in his shoes, so he takes them off and follows Ragh through the garden and into the shade under a big maple tree.

 “What’s up, dude?”, Ragh asks and throws himself down into the ground, pulls the straw hat off his head and leans against the thick trunk of the tree. Fabian sits down cross-legged and puts his sneakers to the side.

 “So—uh”, he starts and then closes his mouth immediately because he hasn’t actually thought this through at all. Ragh looks at him curiously and Fabian wonders if there is a good and nonchalant way to ask the things he wants to ask. Instead of acting cool and composed how he wants to, what comes out of his mouth is:

 “Do you think The Ball and Theo made out?”

 There is a beat of silence in which Fabian considers just getting up and running out of the garden and into traffic. This was not what he is supposed to ask.

 This is not—

 “Dude”, Ragh says and he leans forward to look at Fabian. “You look like you’re about to puke, man.”

 Fabian doesn’t feel great. His chest feels like someone installed iron clasps around it and is pulling his ribs tight and his stomach is doing some acrobatics that it’s absolutely not supposed to do.

 Why did he ask this?

 And what if Ragh says yes?

 Why the fuck does it even bother him?

 The Ball can kiss whoever the fuck he wants!

 “I’m—sure. Fine. Yeah. It’s all—uh. Fine.”

 “Yeah, dude, no offense, but like, it doesn’t look particularly fine to me. So—what you’re asking me is. If Riz and Theo got it going after that whole Truth or Dare thing?”

 Fabian takes a deep breath, which seems particular hard for some reason. This is ridiculous.

 He’s Fabian Aramais Seacaster. He knows how to fucking breathe.

 “I—guess?”

 “Hm”, Ragh says and leans back again. “Not sure if that’s my story to tell, bro. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sorry you feel like shit, but, like. Isn’t that something you should talk to Riz about?”

 Fabian thinks that, if one other person tells him to talk to The Ball, he might actually commit cold blooded murder.

 “Great suggestion, seeing as to how he keeps running away from me like he’s afraid I’m going to breathe fire at him any second”, he growls and crosses his arms in front of his chest. Ragh sighs and cocks his head from side to the other.

 “Would it like, bother you if they actually had made out?”

 Fabian wants to snort and say “No”. What comes out instead is a garbled noise as his brain is bombarded with pictures about Riz and Theo kissing.

 “Woah, dude, okay”, Ragh says and he looks alarmed. “Breathe, man.”

 Fabian can do that. Breathing is really easy, except that it’s not.

 “Okay, dude, Imma just say it now, okay? It’s like ripping a band-aid off!”, Ragh says loudly, grips Fabian’s shoulders and stares at him very intently. “I think you’re totally into Riz.”

 Fabian’s brain feels like it’s suffering from a bad case of frostbite. His thoughts turn sluggish as he tries to process what Ragh just said, but it doesn’t make any sense. Fabian is not into The Ball. He’s not in love with Riz. That is insane.

 “Okay, so, hear me out, bro. Remember how I was totally in love with Dayne? And it took me like a million years to like, get that? Feels pretty similar to what’s happening with you right now, right? Because we’re like, these manly dudes and we’re supposed to be into hot girls and all that stuff, right? So it doesn’t really fit the picture, but it’s totally fine, dude. It’s all good. You can be in love with Riz.”

 Fabian blinks at him. He can hear the words and he can feel the corners of his mouth turn upwards as if to try to form into a grin.

 “Don’t be insane, Ragh. I’m not—That’s—“

 “It bothers you when he’s with other people because you’re fucking jealous, dude. I’ve been there, okay? And it’s like this weird thing of—you’re not allowed to be jealous because that’s fucking weird, right? Because that’s like, your best bro and everything. But then you keep obsessing about him making out with other people and then it’s like, okay, but what if he kissed me and then you feel really fucking bad, right? Because you’re brain shouldn’t go there?”

 For the very first time Fabian imagines what would have happened if he, instead of saying “No, that’s ridiculous”, had actually kissed The Ball.

 He thinks about Riz’ sharp teeth and how he keeps chewing on his bottom lip when he’s nervous and the second Fabian’s brain arrives at Riz’ bottom lip it feels like there is a dam inside his brain breaking.

 He imagines grabbing Riz and pulling him into his lap, pressing his lips against his and hearing Riz make a choked noise against his lips—

 “What the actual fuck.”

 Ragh lets go of his shoulders and nods.

 “Yeah, dude. Intense, right?”

 “But—why?”

 Ragh shrugs and rubs the back of his head with one of his hands. Somehow the cold water drenching Fabian’s clothing feels like a blessing now because his skin seems to be on fire.

 Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck—

 “Because, dude.”

 “But like—what the fuck am I supposed to do with that?”

 “I mean. Sounds to me like you should totally kiss your Ball, bro.”

 Fabian’s stomach does multiple somersaults.

 “But he’s not—into that kind of stuff.”

 Ragh chuckles.

 “Dude, I love Riz, I really do, but I feel like now that you figured this part of the whole deal out I can just tell you, that like. Riz doesn’t want to make out with Theo or pretty much anyone, right? Which is totally fine, bro, don’t get me wrong. But also, like. I’m a hundred percent certain that he would totally kiss you, man.”

 Fabian’s first response is “Of course he does, why shouldn’t he” but then his brain catches up and his skin starts to tingle.

 Maybe this is why kissing Aelwyn for the second time wasn’t really working out. Maybe this is what Aelwyn meant when she said “Well, I suppose we’re not a good match after all”.

 “Riz... wants to kiss me?”

 Ragh nods and grins.

 “Yeah, dude.”

 “Okay. Well—uh. I have to go.”

 “Don’t forget your shoes!”, Ragh shouts after him but Fabian doesn’t give a rat’s ass about his shoes as he takes off.

 Maybe he can unpack all of this shit later. Maybe he should actually talk to Jawbone. Maybe this is going to be yet another thing that makes him different from his father and as soon as he has some time to think it through he can maybe arrive at the conclusion that that isn’t a bad thing.

 At some point he stops running because he actually has no idea where Riz is. Is he still at school? At home? At his damn office? Fabian pulls out his crystal and hastily types a message to Riz.

 “Where are you???? We need to kiss!”

 He deletes the last word and types “talk” instead. Fabian watches with his breath held as three dots appear on his screen very shortly before they disappear again. He waits in the middle of the street, no shoes on, dripping wet. People passing him by look as though they’re concerned for his mental state but Fabian couldn’t care less.

 Maybe now is not the time to be manly about his feelings if he actually wants to fucking kiss his damn best friend.

 “I need to talk to my best friend”, he types.

 The dots reappear immediately.

 “at the office”

 Fabian stuffs the crystal back into his pocket, considers calling the Hangman to drive him over there but then decides that he doesn’t want to wait for him to arrive.

 The last time Fabian was in Riz’ office there was a terribly creepy doppelganger of Riz trying to kill him, but he pushes the thought to the side as he rushes into the building, dripping water everywhere as he heads up the stairs.

 Fabian doesn’t think he can manage another emotional talk today because the last one left him completely drained and exhausted, but the second that he spots Riz behind his desk ripping some papers in a nervous craze his heart leaps into his throat and goes into overdrive immediately.

 Fuck.

 He rips open the door and Riz flinches so hard that he sends all the papers flying. Then he stares at Fabian with his huge, yellow eyes.

 “Why are you wet? And where are your shoes?”, he wants to know, looking completely confused.

 “Doesn’t matter”, Fabian says, rounds the desk and grabs Riz by the shoulders. “We need to talk about Saturday.”

 Riz turns his face away and there is a dark green blush on his cheeks and the back of his nose. Now that Fabian knows what his damn problem is he realizes how fucking badly he actually wants to kiss Riz.

 “Oh—well. Yeah. Haha, weird, right? Don’t worry about it, it was totally ridicu—“

 “I should have done it”, Fabian interjects. Riz’ eyes grow impossibly wider.

 “Wh—what?”

 “I should have done it. Kiss you, I mean. We should have kissed.”

 Who would have thought that the son of the famous Bill Seacaster would die of a heart attack at the age of eighteen while wearing no shoes and dripping wet clothes.

 “Wh—why?”

 “Because I—“

 Fabian didn’t actually get that far in his head. He grabs Riz’ shoulders tighter and fuck, he can’t bring himself to say the words.

 “Because I don’t want you to kiss anyone else”, is what he manages in the end and he watches closely as Riz’ swallows and the dark shade of green on his face grows impossibly darker still.

 “Did you mean it?”, he asks quietly, his voice raspy and hoarse.

 “Mean what?”

 “That—in your text message. About—you know. Being best friends or whatever.”

 Fabian takes a deep breath.

 “Yeah.”

 Riz makes a very small “Oh” sound and then, all of a sudden, Fabian stumbles backwards with his arms full of Goblin. It occurs to him that this is the first time they actually hugged.

 “So—uh. Can I? Um—kiss you?”, he asks and his voice sounds like he swallowed a bunch of sand.

 “Yeah. Yeah, okay.”

 It turns out that kissing someone you’re actually into is better than winning a Bloodrush game, better than dancing, better than pretty much everything he’s ever done before. Riz holds onto him as if his life depended on it and Fabian feels like he won’t let his best friend down anytime soon or he might just fall over and die.

 It occurs to him that this must be Riz’ first kiss and something inside him purrs contently at the thought of that as he lets himself sink down into Riz’ chair so Riz is sitting in his lap.

 “Thought you were into that Theo dude”, he mumbles against Riz’ lips.

 “’m not.”

 “Yeah, I get that now.”

 “I’m uh—pretty much only into you. So...”

 Fabian’s heart is doing a very silly little dance in his chest but all he can bring himself to say is “Yeah”. All the other words that he probably should say get stuck somewhere half the way up his throat because his heart is beating too fast.

 “So... no more Truth or Dare”, Riz says sheepishly.

 “No, definitely not.”

 “Cool.”

 Very cool indeed, Fabian thinks, as he kisses Riz again.