#anyways. the cake is going to be vegan

[kalmeria]

save me from this misery (going to a cousins wedding)

[queen-boudicca]

[sharki-leftishark]

CV section: dissertation defense cakes

[cowvboyenema]

// I'm never going to school again this shit is fucking absurd

[kissitbttr]

miguel putting up with his girl’s princess attitude

-

“miguel!” you call out from the bathroom as your fingers delicately fix the straps of your bodycon dress. “can you come here for a minute?”

miguel sighs, this is the third time you keep calling him knowing how busy he is at the moment. work has gotten the best of him, and if reinventing new techs back to back isn’t enough to drain him, he has to keep up with your needs daily.

does he has the courage to say no to you, though? nope. as much as he hates to admit it because it’s embarrassing, he’s scared of you. if the spider society think that Miguel is too frightening then they have not seen you get mad or being a brat.

“coming, baby!” he walks out of his office while taking off his glasses, rolling the sleeves of his henley shirt to his elbows.

the bathroom door is left wide open, immediately seeing you standing before the mirror in a long and tight fitting grey dress that falls just around your ankles. and just like that, his annoyance completely washed off,

he takes a good look at you. eyes slowly observing every single detail of your face and down to your body. the way that dress hugs your curves and accentuate your best assets should be a crime,

God, you’re such a perfection.

“shut your mouth before you catch flies, babe” you jokingly say as your fiancee stares at you with his jaw slightly agape. “mind helping me?”

Miguel clears his throat after, slightly smirking as he shrug his shoulders. he leans against the door way with his arms crossed, eyes never leaving yours.

“you look absolutely divine, mi amor.” he comments, taking his lower lip between his teeth. “is that new?” he points at the dress,

rolling your eyes playfully, you try to keep your composure still. even after three years of dating—now engaged— he still manages to make your heart skips and create butterflies in the pit of your stomach,

“I know” you reply in confidence, winking at him which he chuckles in return. “and yes it is! it’s SKIMS! got it yesterday, does it look good on me?”

he frowns, tilting his head to the side. “baby, you already know the answer to that come on now… you make anything look sexy.” he strides closer to you as he stands from behind you, “now, què necesitas?” he questions, resting his hands on his hips

you find it attractive how he towers over you, and it’s one thing that you love about him. it’s not that you’re petite or anything. but compared to how tall and big he is, you’re definitely tiny.

“straighten my hair for me please? I can’t reach it” you pout at him through the mirror, “just this part right here” fingers move to the back to touch part of your hair,

“ay dios mio, woman… you’re lucky i love you” he teases before grabbing the iron from the sink. “going out with the girls, mami? i assume lunch?” he asks as he starts parting your hair with one hand,

your head shakes, straightening the dress. “no, I’m doing cake testing today and wedding dresses … Darla is bringing three more flavors.”

he stops what he’s doing, giving you a confused look. “alone? cariño why didn’t you tell me? you know I’d come with you” he feels a bit disappointed and now guilty that he’s busying himself with work and instead you’re left dealing with your wedding, alone.

his hand rests on your shoulder and you move yours on top of him. “hey, it’s okay, Miggy… you’ve been so stressed lately i do not want to put more pressure… it was last minute anyway, she texted me this morning.”

“you’re my girl, i would never be too busy for you.” he says almost too fast,

giving him a sincere smile, you nod your head. “yes… i know, baby. trust me it’s okay…plus it’s bad luck for the groom to see his bride in a wedding dress” you giggle a bit. “we can go over the seating arrangements again together, yeah? i promise” you plant a soft kiss on his finger,

Miguel exhales a sigh, still feeling tiny bit upset that he won’t be there to keep you company. “okay, fine… tell Darla that keep vegan options open for the cakes.”

“noted, honey.” you tell him as he continues to straighten your hair, “is everything okay with work?”

he nods, eyes too fixated on your long hair, not wanting to mess up a single strand. “just running over a few reports and fixing few minor defects on the techs and my suit…the last guy did quite a number on me.”

“hmm i love it when you speak science to me” you comment, watching him laugh a bit at your flirty remark. “but you still need to be careful. i do not want to see my future husband all bruised up when i walk down that aisle or else I’ll leave your ass.” your tone comes off demanding and firm, but it’s only because you care.

“yes ma’am” he replies, setting down the hot object down on the sink before slowly running his fingers through your hair. “there you go, baby” he moves your hair to the front, kissing your cheek and seeing you smile just makes him happy. knowing he’s done a great job.

turning around to face him, you stand on your toes to kiss his lips. “thank you, miggy… I’ll see you later, okay? we can go grab dinner outside and then movie night at 9?”

his heart warms at that and lips stretches into a large grin. “sounds like a plan.” then he lightly slaps your ass as you walk out of the door,

“let me know if there’s going to be bunch of assholes staring at you today, I’ll hunt them down and fucking kill them on the spot.” he mentions as if it’s nothing

and they say romance is dead.

-

cake testing with miggy!

[wiproaringreading]

(world's worst, most unconvincing accent, in the most unconvincing way) oh he's really a cracking chef it's really SUCH a treat

anyways fantasy setting momence

oh wait zodius does NOT have a british accent okay. she's just suddenly doing a british accent here. she is. unrealiable narrator!

[p0orbaby]

👋🏻👋🏻👋🏻

May i request a blurb of reader who is the gf of Alexia and is also a baker and she is always baking more than necessary and forces Alexia and the barca team to eat all of them ...

Thank you

-

The smell of cinnamon, vanilla, and chocolate hangs in the air so thick it’s practically a fog. Alexia’s flat, usually pristine and minimalist, looks more like the aftermath of a Bake Off finale. Flour dusts every visible surface. Mixing bowls, spatulas, and piping bags have taken over the kitchen, creeping into the dining room. There’s even a smudge of frosting on the handle of the fridge, but you’ll wipe that later. Maybe.

Alexia had invited the team over for a low-key bonding evening—dinner, a couple of drinks, maybe some cards. You had other ideas.

“I just thought it’d be nice,” you’d said that morning, elbow-deep in dough, “to have a few little things for them to snack on”

Alexia had given you a look. The same look she’d given you after the sixth cake you’d made for her mum’s birthday. “Little things,” she repeated, sceptical.

“Just a couple of options,” you’d assured her.

Now, hours later, you’re carrying a tray piled high with lemon bars into the living room. The team is sprawled across Alexia’s sofa and chairs, clearly at home. Mapi and Ingrid are in a heated debate over Uno rules, Claudia is scrolling her phone, and Patri is valiantly attempting to play referee.

“Round three!” you announce cheerfully, placing the tray on the coffee table with a flourish.

Several heads turn, eyes widening at the sheer volume of baked goods.

“I thought round two was the end,” Ingrid mutters, though she’s already reaching for a bar.

“It’s never the end,” Alexia says, appearing behind you, arms crossed. Her voice is resigned, but there’s a glint of affection in her eyes.

You smile sweetly at her before turning to the group. “Try these—they’re gluten-free and vegan, in case anyone’s worried”

“Worried?” Patri says, picking one up. “I’m worried about needing to be rolled out of here”

Mapi snorts, shoving a whole bar into her mouth in one go. “It’s worth it,” she mumbles through a mouthful of lemon.

Alexia leans in, lowering her voice just for you. “You’re going to kill them, you know. Athletes can only take so much sugar”

“They’re fine,” you whisper back, dismissing her concern with a wave. “Besides, it’s not like you’re all training tomorrow”

“We are training tomorrow”

You blink, caught. “Oh. Well, they’re young, they’ll recover”

Alexia sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose, but the small quirk of her lips betrays her. She’s used to this.

By the time you emerge with round four—a towering plate of chocolate chip cookies—Clàudia is lying on the floor, groaning dramatically.

“No more,” she says, holding up a hand like she’s warding off an attack.

“These are a classic,” you argue, placing the plate down anyway. “Everyone loves cookies”

Mapi groans but still takes one, breaking it in half and passing the other half to Ingrid. Patri looks like she’s considering whether she can fit another bite of anything into her stomach.

Alexia sits beside you, finally giving up on trying to manage the situation. “You’re relentless,” she says, but her tone is warm.

“I’m passionate,” you correct, leaning your head on her shoulder.

“You’re something,” she agrees, stealing a cookie for herself.

The team might be groaning now, but by the end of the night, they’re all cramming Tupperware full of leftovers to take home. You pretend not to see Alexia slipping them extra containers, but the smug smile she gives you after is impossible to miss.

[castielsprostate]

season 17 of supernatural and they're celebrating sam's birthday!!!! dean and cas tried to bake sam a cake that looks like him.... it went horribly wrong so they got a back-up sheetcake. jack got sam soooo many gifts like socks and underwear and 75 tonnes of canned "vegan" beans. eileen got him a book he mentioned he wanted to read (the book is haunted), rowena got him a starter witch kit with a how-to wiki article on how to turn someone into vermin, crowley got him a stanford gift card with "leave and go back" scraggly written on it.

anyway dean dies because the original cake exploded (castiel put C4 in it), jack and eileen are sucked into the haunted book, rowena turns crowley into a mouse because he called her dress fugly and gets bit and also turns into a mouse and castiel blue screens.

sam has the best night of sleep ever and couldn't have wished to spend it with anyone else than his family

[fishsticksloser]

Pound Cake

Hobie x gn!reader

Warnings: baking not vegan friendly..., kissing, goofing off

A/N: I will not be writing his accent... Hobie Brown, Peepaw Leo, and Astarion are invading my brain... Send help

Hobie knew how you felt about your birthday, not particularly interested in celebrating. Still he was determined to help make this birthday special. He wanted to make you love your birthday again. No matter how many times you tell him you don't want to celebrate, he refuses to believe it. Birthdays are special, and you deserve to be celebrated. And you're going to be celebrated whether you like it or not.

You walk into the kitchen and see him standing there with a cake mix and all the other ingredients needed to make a cake. "What's this?" You laugh, a bit anxiously.

"What isn't it?" Hobie answers with a grin, motioning to the ingredients. "I'm making you a cake." He replies simply, though his smile gives away how excited he is.

"Bee, you've never baked a day in your life." You point out, walking over to him. You carefully inspect the boxed cake mix and other ingredients he's laid out.

"So?" He looks at you, his grin not fleeting. "How hard can it be? It doesn't take a master chef to bake a cake. I can figure it out." He shrugs. This is, of course, completely untrue. But he wants to celebrate you on your birthday, so he'll give it a try anyway.

"Can I help?" You ask quietly, grabbing an egg to break and put into the bowl. You knew he wanted to celebrate you today, but you didn't like the thought of not helping. You didn't want to feel any different, no matter how much he wanted to celebrate your birthday.

"He considers the offer for a moment. "I was going to do this by myself as a surprise," he says. "But I guess I that doesn't really work if you're already here..." He trails off. Hobie loves cooking with you and he knows you love spending time in the kitchen with him. Plus, now he doesn't have to try and figure out how to make a cake by himself, which definitely would've been a disaster. So he doesn't argue. "I'd love for you to help."

After the cake is in the oven, you turn to the counter again. You assess all the left over ingredients: milk, powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla. "Are we making out own frosting?"

"Well, I was planning on it." He replies. "Unless you have a better idea." He's never actually made frosting before, but he's sure he can figure it out - it's not like baking. Then again, he's also never made cake from a box before, but he seems to have managed that okay. So he probably can figure out how to make frosting, too. At least he hopes he can.

You shrug, grabbing the softened butter. "I know how to make it." You tell him, pulling him closer so he can learn. Hobie grins as he wraps his arms around you, making the most of the position so he can steal a kiss. He'll gladly learn anything from you. He rests his head on your shoulder while he gives you his attention.

"Beat the butter first..." You mumble as he stands behind you, his hands firmly on your waist. You start the mixer, letting it beat the butter until light and smooth.

"What's next?" He asks when you stop the mixer. His fingers trail across your hips, and he leans into you as you continue to teach him the ways of frosting making. Of course he does sneak a few kisses in between steps.

The oven beeps and he takes the cake out. We put it in the fridge to cool faster before moving back to the frosting. "What colors are we thinking?" You ask, starting to separate the frosting into bowls.

"Do you have any requests?" He questions, he doesn't really care what color the frosting is. The frosting is just another excuse for him to stay close to you. If you want neon green frosting, he'll gladly make it. He'll still eat it too, as long as you're with him. But it's your cake, and you're celebrating your birthday.

"So helpful." You tease, picking a few colors. "Wanna split the decorating? You do one side, I do the other?" You suggest, pulling the cooled cake out of the fridge.

"Deal." He agrees. "But you better be prepared to be wowed. I'm a masterful cake decorator." He says with a smirk, you can tell he's absolutely not serious. But since he's never decorated a cake before, he's having a lot of fun with it, putting as much effort into decorating as he can. He makes no guarantee that it will be good, but he does promise to give it everything he's got.

"Oh? Masterful?" You laugh playfully, cutting the cake and moving down the counter a bit to give him some elbow room to work. "Can't wait to see what you concoct."

"Prepare to be dazzled," he says with a smirk. His hand brushes yours as he takes his half of the cake. He takes advantage of the fact that he's standing close to you by pulling you in for a quick kiss. He sets the cake down to work on, glancing over at you and grinning. "Just you wait. This cake is going to be the most gorgeous thing you've ever seen."

You chuckle and move to work on your own half of the cake. After a while, you're close to being done and your mind drifts. "Hey, Bee?" You smile, turning to look at him sweetly as he works on his own half.

As he spreads the frosting over his half of the cake, he glances at you, his eyes sparkle with curiosity. "Yeah, love?" He asks, still working on the frosting.

You whip some frosting onto his lips, laughing softly. He grins as you do this, his expression turning from curious to hungry. Hobie doesn't waste a single second before pulling you close and kissing you deeply, with intent. The hand that was decorating the cake is now clutching your hip, pulling you close as he can. Your frosting covered fingers gently cup his jaw as you kiss him back. All thoughts of cake, frosting, decorating escape your mind as he pulls you closer. He keeps kissing you, his breath mingling with yours as he kisses you fiercely and deeply, not wanting to leave any part of you unloved and unexplored.

He groans into the kiss, and when it's over, he rests his forehead against yours. His voice a whisper. "I'm glad you were born, my love."

[blog-name-idk]

The Plot Twist | 02

Written by @blog-name-idk and @eserethriddle

Summary: Once upon a time you would have jumped at the chance to live the idol girlfriend life. The cameras, the action, the whirlwind romance. But what was once a dream has now become your worst nightmare, and you fully intend to fight the universe as it repeatedly conspires to set you up with your seven perfectly good soulmates from Bangtan Sonyeondan.

In which we punt Y/N into all the fanfiction tropes and you do your feral best to subvert the love story.

Because nani the fuck, you are The Plot Twist.

Pairing: OT7 X Fem!Reader

Genre: Soulmate!AU, crack, humor, idol!AU, light angst, slow burn, romantic comedy, just a fun silly old time

Rating: 18+

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Chapter 2: "Ahjussi, go back to MapleStory."

Life is truly unremarkable as a soulmate-less bachelorette.

Thankfully, none of the symptoms Junior Liaison Officer Choi Mijin mentioned to you have occurred – no bodily anomalies, no universal conspirations – and, on the way home from your parents’ place, you chide your anxious self for letting a thirty-minute phone call upturn the joyous revelries of turning twenty-five.

Though of course, even someone like you can see the grandeur behind it. The potential.

Soulmate. Not half of one’s heart, not ‘mi media naranja,’ but soulmate. Someone utmost, born from the same fabric of life – possibly indelicate, and not without flaws – but beautiful, blameless, and immaterially yours.

It’s great. Really great. But it’s daunting, too. There’s unprecedented pressure in that kind of ordeal, and… you like unremarkable. It’s safe. If you were ever going to be remarkable, it would be in ways you can directly control – like getting to the last floor of skull caverns or politely tearing incompetent coworkers to shreds when they challenge you.

But real life? Real personal relationships, with people that matter? That becomes a polynomial. There are too many variables outside of your ability to dictate, too much that could go wrong for you to spend too long mourning the absence of any soulmate symptoms. And anyway, your singularity isn’t your sob story – it’s your defense. Your most effective one.

You get back to your apartment at half past nine the following morning, heavy tupperwares of side dishes prepared by your mother hoisted in tow. At ease, you whistle a cheery tune as you get settled around your kitchenette, arranging each fully packed box amongst refrigerator shelves with care. You help yourself to an enticing pinch of putbaechu and decide to place its tupperware farther down the back.

Yes, that batch probably needed more time to ferment. After all, it’s impossible for napa cabbage kimchi to taste as sweet as cake.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

In his black-and-white checkered pajamas, Jeon Jungkook happily devours the two-tier caramel-frosted cake for breakfast. Furthermore, because he is a considerate maknae, he leaves the vegan, calorie-measured miniature cake for the rest of his hyungs to share when they wake.

They really don't appreciate him enough.

An early riser, also still in pajamas, Kim Seokjin spots him and tuts. “Jungkook, that isn’t healthy.” When Jungkook suddenly spits out the forkful he’d just shoved into his mouth, the eldest grimaces and admonishes, “Yah! I taught you better than that! That is disgusting behavior.”

“You know what’s disgusting?” Jungkook retorts with a revolted scowl, pushing the offensive dessert box far away from his person, lest it insult him yet again. “Surprise vegan cake. I’m going to sleep, hyung. Good night.”

“You mean ‘good morning.’” Seokjin corrects, reaching for the coffee pot with a sigh. “Brat.”

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

During your afternoon gaming hours, your phone screen lights up with a notification. Your extended arm worms through sofa pillows to swipe and unlock it, and you instantly growl at the e-mail that greets you.

From: executive-offices@samsong.kr Recipients: yln.yfn@samsong.kr, lee.jaesung@samsong.kr Subject: Executive Meeting on Tuesday

Dear Associates,

We hope this e-mail finds you well.

In preparation for the upcoming work week, we would like to advise your stations re: the exploratory meeting with CEO Son Hyunsuk scheduled for this Thursday at 15:00 (KST) on external company collaborations.

We appreciate your confirmation upon receipt of this notice and bid you a happy weekend.

Regards, Samsong Executive Scheduling

“Jesus Kim Christ, it is a Sunday. This should be illegal,” you swear, placing down the handheld gaming console on the couch next to you and getting up to refill your glass of water instead. Unfortunately, on your return from your hydration quest, you bang your ankle on the leg of the coffee table.

"MotherFUCKER!" you curse, collapsing onto your sofa and cradling your leg for a full minute. After recovering, you pick your console back up.

Idly hovering on the gaming screen, Tom Nook stares up at you with a deadpan glare. You’d think his heavy-lidded, judgmental look was a reaction to your use of offensive language, but you roll your eyes at the prospect.

Tom Nook, the island racoon? A landlord. He can judge all he wants. He’s as evil as company capitalists come.

With somehow even less of a conscience.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

“Ah one, ah two, ah five, six, seven, eight!”

Jung Hoseok snaps his fingers as he moves to the beat, flawlessly demonstrating the first few steps of the dance routine. Kim Taehyung watches him, crouched in front of the floor-to-ceiling mirrors like a religious student, except he’s also thinking, That is not how arithmetics works. This is why we are performers and not math teachers.

Hoseok seems to catch the faraway look in Taehyung’s expression, because his limbs freeze, dropping to a sudden stop, brown gaze slanting sharp and deadly. The other boys, sensing blood in the water, subtly shift away and try to look as focused as possible.

“What? Would you rather practice cartwheels with Jimin again?” Hoseok rumbles, hand on hip.

Yes…Taehyung laughs nervously. “No.”

Jimin shoots him a knowing look.

“You know,” Hoseok says, pointedly, brandishing his left leg, “I woke up with more bruises from you again. I couldn’t pair my tie-dye top with my denim shorts so now I’m stuck here practicing in my joggers with you instead of walking around Yongsan.”

You’re welcome, Yongsan, Taehyung thinks. Personally, he believes Hoseok’s fashion sense is something of a moving target.

Hit or miss. Miss a lot.

Oh well. Time to bring out the puppy eyes. “Hobi-hyung, can we start from the chorus instead?” He pouts, for cuteness excess.

“Fine!” the dance leader snaps, trying to mask the way the irritation ebbs out of his voice.

Taehyung suppresses a satisfied grin.

Yup. Works every time.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

By the middle of the work week, Min Yoongi has barely scraped by to meet a hard production deadline. Gears still turning in his mind, day lapses into night, unnoticed in the dark haven of his studio. He leisurely strums his guitar for an hour, puts it down, and reaches to compose an accompanying melody with the use of the nearest piano.

Eventually, Yoongi turns off all his music equipment. In his mind, there’s an echo of a tune he can’t shake away. He can barely hear it himself – soft, feminine, slumberous – and he lays back with his eyes closed to savor the ghost of it instead.

He wants to commit it to memory. It’s something he’s never heard before.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Miles away, you feel pleasantly adrift. It's been months since you moved in, and you hadn’t been aware that your neighbors played music. In fact, the walls between apartment units are assuredly thick enough for all kinds of noises to filter through – a blessing when you get sniped by yet another rune bear.

You're also not really one to enjoy ambient noise outside of your control, but to your surprise, you don't mind this music at all.

It’s nice.

You tuck your knees to your chest and rest your body against the headboard of your bed, closing your eyes to listen. But it seems that the mysterious musician has gone to sleep for the night. Instead, the old made-up lullaby your mother used to sing to you when you were a child filters into your brain unbidden, and you smile at the memory. Within minutes, lightly humming to yourself, you let the notes overtake your thoughts and fall sound asleep.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Tonight, your dream plays like an old movie. Most of your dreams are like this, but here you feel like you exist in snippets – that you’re a passenger in someone else's skin. Like you’re standing at a different height, taller than reality. The colors seem to cling to the edges of your vision like haloed light through fogged glass when you move, leaving you half-sentient, fighting to see through the haze of your subconscious mind. Like you’re not you.

You wonder where you are. Who.

I want to do more, you hear yourself think in your dream. I want to be more.

You see your feet take you away from backrooms with white walls. Your heart’s near bursting and telling you how much of this it missed, telling you you're finally back where you belong.

This: before your very eyes, an ocean of twinkling violet.

There’s an overwhelming rush of love in your chest as a chant fills the air, expanding throughout your body until it's spilling from your eyes. You can feel the skin of your lips stretch into a smile.

Everything feels like a dream come true.

“I’m your hope!” you tell the roaring crowd.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Jung Hoseok bolts upright at exactly 6:15 AM.

Letting out a groan, he drops his face into his hands and croaks out, “What the fuck.”

“You okay, hyung?” Jungkook asks, getting ready to turn in for bed himself. It’s his fourth nocturnal day in a row.

Hoseok usually admonishes Jungkook for this kind of misbehavior, but right now he can’t muster enough indignation. It’s just–

“I had a dream. I was a MapleStory livestreamer and – I was really into it. But really? In this economy?” Hoseok continues to complain in his rough morning voice, “I don’t even game.”

Jungkook sniggers, hogging the blankets to himself. “That’s true. Maybe you traded dreams with Jin-hyung?”

Hoseok rubs the spot between his brows. Frowns. It's possible, Jin does love MapleStory. Though lately he's been on a weird arcade game kick despite Namjoon scolding him for being careless in public.

Appeased, he finds the spark to be a proper hyung to their precious maknae. “Don’t sleep at this time tomorrow, JK. If I catch you again, you’re dead at practice. Capisce?”

Jungkook nods a hundred times and buries himself under the sheets. Hobi might lack the broadness and mustache of the stereotypical Italian mobster, but he manages to exude a menacing aura all the same.

“Capeesh, hyung.”

Because he is not a MapleStory livestreamer, Jung Hoseok climbs out of bed at 6:30 in the morning. Because he has a bunch of back-breaking schedules to get to. It’s another Thursday.

No matter what, he’s going to survive. In this economy.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Thursday meetings are like Monday meetings but from the nine circles of hell combined.

You shuffle into the arcade with a slump in your shoulders but a fire in your heart. The last time you had a day this bad at work was the last time you had come here, to let out your inner rage on tiny dots and cute little ghosts.

You hadn't even realized it was an arcade at first – you had just found your feet moving automatically towards the storefront, as if inexplicably drawn. And as soon as you set foot inside, even before the odd smell of metal tokens that lingers even in arcades with balance cards, an immediate sense of peace washed over you. That this place was safe. That you could enter and put your everyday life and problems on pause for a short, sweet amount of time.

That feeling has remained with each visit, only growing stronger with your increasing familiarity with both the arcade and the elderly owner Lee-ssi, a friendly man who reminds you of your own grandfather.

You're sure that the worn down sight of you in your white blouse and black pencil skirt amidst the backdrop of the rowdy neon arcade is strange, but you figure if your colleagues can release their frustrations by throwing down in public establishments, so can you. In your own way.

The first and last time you went out with your coworkers, the guy from marketing tried to get you to come home with him. So you made up a liver disease to avoid being expected to drink with them again, and are now letting out your frustrations in a much healthier way: against some cocky kid who calls themselves "the Pacman God."

They are pretty good, you will admit.

Just not as good as you.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

There are a few things that never fail to brighten Lee Seungwon's day. Getting to see the half-toothed smile on his baby grandson's face, making his son-in-law uncomfortable when his daughter isn't around, and –

"WHO. DID. THIS?!" Kim Seokjin demands, furiously pointing at the arcade machine standing innocently in the corner, taunting him.

Resisting the urge to laugh, Seungwon only sighs and crosses his arms, looking like he'd rather be anywhere else. Which is truly a front, because despite all the annoyances that come with running an arcade, he truly loves his job. He loves providing a space where kids can be kids, and the rare adult can relive the worry-free days of their youth.

"We respect the privacy of our clients, sir," he says politely, lips twitching at Seokjin's dramatic shriek of outrage. Seungwon has especially been looking forward to this particular adult's reaction upon finding his high score beaten by one of the newer regulars.

"Don't you remember who I am?!" the handsome man questions, and the storekeeper looks him up and down, once again unimpressed. Seokjin remembers he's ensconced in a bright pink hoodie and pink sweatpants, then gives a mental shrug.

Whatever. He looks good in everything.

"Yes. ‘Jin the Pacman God.’ Currently… number two in that game," the shopkeeper sneers as he insults the most handsome man in Korea – possibly the world. "Second to GoDsLaYeR_69." he adds, for good measure.

Seokjin gapes at the audacity of this mortal, his gamer rage only further activated by the offensive words that come out of Seungwon’s mouth next.

"Maybe you should go back," the shopkeeper suggests, inspecting his cuticles, "to MapleStory." After a pause, he puts the final nail in the coffin currently housing Seokjin's pride: "Ahjussi."

The Kim Seokjin, being called ahjussi by a man who looks older than Yoongi's soul?

That's it. That's fucking it.

With gurgling, unintelligible squawks of indignation, Seokjin pulls out his wallet and slaps his arcade card on the counter, followed by his black credit card.

"Load this up with 2,000,000W. Right now."

Lee Seungwon hides a smirk as he obeys.

It's just too easy.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

It had been a rare occasion in which all of the boys’ evenings (and following mornings) had been free simultaneously, and Hoseok decided to celebrate this in a way so rarely possible for them to do together anymore: to find a noraebang and get absolutely wasted.

"How did I let you guys persuade me into doing this again?" Namjoon asks, blinking in a mixture of joy and consternation at the freshly inked, slightly inflamed 7 on his skin. He flexes the side of his leg and watches the clear bandage wrinkle and smooth at the motion.

"Friendship!" Taehyung announces happily, eyes alight as he sways ever so slightly in his chair. Jungkook and Jimin are fully knocked out on each of Taehyung’s shoulders, their demonic sides hidden by the angelic expressions on their sleeping faces.

"No," Yoongi corrects, revealing a bottle of Suntory whisky from god-knows-where. "This."

"Ah, yes!” Eyes bright with satisfaction, Namjoon’s dimples deepen, and Seokjin laughs at how childish Namjoon looks in his glee as he receives his prize and cradles it to his chest with utmost and deliberate regard. With his vision blurred from all of the alcohol, it almost looks like it's disappearing into the leader's ample bosom. “Sunny, my frieeeend!"

Yoongi nods at him, ten times too much, then glances at Taehyung as he narrowly avoids falling off his chair for the umpteenth time. “The infants are fading,” he mutters, “Let’s get them home.”

Twenty minutes later, Hoseok emerges behind a curtain with a brand new tattoo, ready to show it off and receive compliments for being brave and only screaming once.

Except he’s all alone in the waiting room.

He waits a single beat before looking around in confusion.

“Guys?”

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

You stumble through your doorway, confused by your body's decision to stop functioning properly. It had begun at the arcade, your normal precision and flawless execution apparently deciding to take its own mental health day and leaving you with slowing reflexes and sloppy reactions.

Finally, you decided to leave after realizing you'd been growling at the machine for the better part of an hour.

Well actually, Lee-ssi had kindly given you a bottle of water and suggested you take a break because you were scaring the kids. You decided to go home lest your happy place become tainted by the miasma of your god-slaying alter ego.

On the train, you nodded off and almost missed your stop – something that never happens. You tripped on your way off the train, and you had initially blamed it on being drowsy, but the trek from the station to your apartment did nothing to dispel your clumsiness.

If you didn't know any better, you would have thought you had gone drinking with your coworkers and were now stumbling home in a drunken haze. But you've been at the arcade since you left work, so that's impossible.

Maybe you're getting sick. That would explain the fogginess in your head, the sluggishness of your limbs.

Feeling under the weather, you spend the night in the dark of your bedroom. But then intense, prickling feelings bug you all over. Instead of the rest you hoped for, the hours are filled with tossing and turning, needle-points on your skin that fall just shy of being painful.

When you wake up, you find your skin tattooed seven different times with the number seven in seven different places.

Um.

What the fuck?

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Masterlist | Next

[satureja13]

Jeb's Investigations - Part 2

Jeb lost track of the pawprints when they reached the compacted path. So he and Valerian went on to Goldshire since he has no idea where else to go in this still unfamiliar world. As soon as they arrived, Lou (NPC Jeb's best friend) already came running. Lou: "Oh Jeb! You're here!"

Lou: "I'm out of my head! He's still gone!" And then Lou threw himself into Jeb's arms, sobbing. He doesn't feel as if he'd eaten whole Jack, though. But Jeb knows that Jack can eat two whole pizze plus a cake and still doesn't look stuffed. Werewolves...

Lou: "I don't know what to do. I'm so worried. He vanished last night and I can't find him anywhere!" Last night? That's quite a long time when we consider that Jack found his dead body just a few ingame hours ago...

Lou: "Help me find him, Jeb! Who knows what happened to him? Maybe he cowers somewhere, alone and afraid?" Or dead... But Lou looks genuinely worried. Could he really have killed (and eaten) Jack and still convincingly play the worried friend?

Lou: "Let's go inside and have a tea. I need to calm down. I'm so upset, I won't be of any help otherwise."

They went over to Lou's house. And that's when Jeb noticed the pawprints! Jeb: "Uhm Lou. Have you been out?" Lou: "Sure. I ran around for hours to search for Jack."

Lou: "I'm sorry. I'd been so busy looking for Jack, I hadn't time to clean up." No way the kitchen got so dirty since Jack left. Maybe Lou carried Jack to his kitchen and - uhm 'processed' him here? That would explain the state the kitchen was in ö.Ö'

Jeb shivered - but he helped cleaning and reassured himself. Just - a - game. Just - a - game. Just look for hints, Jeb. But there was no blood on the counters and no ominous meat parts in the fridge. Just vegetables. Lou had mentioned to Jack that they are almost all vegans here. Hm. Lou looked sadly at the open cookbook on the stand: "Oh, I wish he were back. We wanted to make pizza today. He loves his pizza."

They finally were able to brew a pot of tea and Jeb asked Lou what had happened to make Jack run away. Lou couldn't look Jeb in the eyes: "Eh, something must have startled him... I guess? You know we don't live openly as werewolves here so I ran after him in my human form. But I soon lost sight of him and when I was able to transform unseen and tried to track him, he probably went trough the river so I lost his trace. *Lou pushed the plate away from him* Ach, I'm not hungry. I can't eat the churros. They remind me of him. He loves his churros." Jeb doesn't know what to think. Is Lou suspicious because he's not hungry? Because he's still fed from eating Jack? But not guilty because Lou still speaks of Jack like he's still alive 'He loves pizza/churros' not 'he loved...' But he's definitely hiding something. He must have witnessed what had startled Jack - otherwise he wouldn't have been able to see him running away. Jeb tried to find out more but Lou didn't tell him anything about what else happened last night.

Jeb: "I'll do what I can. Do you have any idea where he could have run to? Does he know any other people here? Or did he have a quarrell with anyone? So he might be hiding from them?" Or did someone wanted to kill him? (But he didn't say that out loud. If Lou is really innocent, he does't want to upset him. Yet. And it's better Jack's death remains a secret as long as the investigations go.)

Lou: "Everyone here liked Jack. But he wasn't this close with anyone yet. I already asked the folks here. And he surely had no quarrel. He's much too kind and friendly. And funny. Smart and talented and cute... Oh Jeb. What do I do?" 'Cute'?

Then they heard Valerian neighing loudly. Lou: "Oh - your master is calling you!? Have you been on an errand for him? You should go. You don't want him to be upset ö.ö Let's go." Eh - his master? Errand? Lou: "I'll accompany you to the stable. I'll have to replace one of Lunatic's horseshoes anyway. He lost one." Jeb played along and they went over to the stable where Valerian already waited impatiently.

Lou: "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have kept you here for so long. You should have told me you are busy for the master." Jeb, still having no idea what Lou is talking about, but still playing along: "Eh, but Jack is important too. We need to find him and I will find out what happened to him, hm?" Lou: "Thank you Jeb, you're a true friend." And when Jeb was just about to mount Valerian, Lou said: "What, no goodbye kiss before you leave?" A goodbye kiss??? Uh, Jack told them how straightforward Lou is and that NPC Jeb and him are best friends here ingame, but a kiss? Uh, well - if it's necessary to stay in character... o.o'

Lou scratched Valerian's neck: "Did you and Lunatic have a quarrel? You always kiss goodbye when you leave." Oh! Lou was talking to Valerian! And not to him ^^' Phew! (Jeb only ever kissed Saiwa :3 )

Lou to Lunatic: "He will find Jack. Don't worry. Let's replace that horseshoe of yours, hm?" But Lunatic didn't pay attention. He just looked sadly and worried after Valerian...

The Therapy Game Master Post with the sessions and places so far is -> here

From the Beginning 🔱  Underwater Love 🔱 Latest

Current Chapter: 'Who killed Jack?' from the beginning ▶️ here

📚 Previous Chapters: Chapters: 1-6 ~ 7-12 ~ 13-16 ~ 17-22 ~ 23-28

[johannestevans]

I know this isn't a writing ask, but I wanna ask about hosting/entertaining. When it comes to budgeting and that in regards to those events is there any tips/tricks you have to doing it so that you don't spend too too much money? Like hosting a potluck would be an example, but do you have any others? I really want to host/entertain when my living situation is more viable to that, so I'm wondering what sort of tips you have.

So, my partner and I do do a lot of cooking anyway, and we're generally decent at doing decent batches of stuff at once where we can.

The plan for this party is like, BYOB and bring a dish if people would like.

Because a lot of the people we know have various dietary restrictions - veganism and vegetarianism, various allergies and intolerances, autism food things - the plan is to have a few dishes out for people to choose from.

Oven pizzas are nice and easy and also very cheap, especially because we're very near to LIDL and ALDI respectively, and it's generally pretty easy to like, grab cheese pizzas and then add on toppings as desired in terms of fresh vegetables.

I'm thinking that unless my partner wants to do a chilli, I'll probably do a rabbit stew, which is pretty cheap - red wine, a rabbit (normally like £5 from the butcher's), potatoes, onions, root veg like carrot or parsnips, oregano, garlic, and you're good to go. It's just in the slow cooker, so it doesn't take a lot of time.

Rice in the rice cooker is easy to do and fairly cheap, so we'll probably pop it on and then have the slow cooker and the rice cooker both available on the table.

A roughly Greek-style salad - for this size, will probably be two cucumbers, a packet of cherry tomatoes, a red onion, a packet of feta-style salad cheese, spinach, possibly a yellow pepper, garlic granules, oregano, lemon juice, and olive oil.

Probably going to do a fresh foccacia, because I know it's an easy safe food for a friend who has a bunch of allergies but not wheat or gluten, and fresh bread is pretty cheap to do, especially because I already have the yeast and bread flour.

And then I was thinking I might also bake some other stuff - I have a pastry scroll I regularly do which is tomato purée or some sort of chutney with cheese and bits of bacon or pepper, rolled up and then baked as individual scrolls with the filling; maybe some kind of potato cake because we'll have potatoes on hand; other than that, maybe some kind of sugar cookie or an easy tray-bake like a brownie or something.

The majority of the dishes I'm describing use a lot of the same ingredients, and these are dishes we cook regularly, so they're not generally tough to do. I'm expecting to be spending extra on this party than I ordinarily would on groceries, but because it's just the same sort of dishes and foods we normally make, it's just doing them a bit bigger, if that makes sense? I'm not really worried about additional cost.

[crimsonthornedrose]

So everything that could possibly go wrong when baking a cake did!! This turned out completely messy and had to bake it in a loaf pan and the buttercream is too liquid and yeah it all just went wrong and kinda looks like a big mess, but atleast the cake itself tastes very yummy!

Considering I don't like chocolate cake haha! It's completely dairy free including the vegan kitkats because we are both intolerant to dairy haha 😅

I hope he likes it anyway, I tried 😅 still didn't top the year I made a giant dinosaur and ruined it's neck and had to put a cake scarf on him 😂🫣

My little boy is 6 years old wahooooooo!!!!!! I'm so excited to pick him up from school and go have fun together! 😁🎉🎊🎈🎈🎈

[fohatic]

hi, i haven't slept much in 3 days so this is probably gonna be all over the place but my very unstable hotspot internet is actually letting me load some tumblr features right now so here comes a personal ramble behind the cut!

that map i created for you is not to scale but fun(?) fact: somewhere along the red trail of that lower arrow is where robert downey jr. evacuated from his home with his family, btw

one neat thing that happens whenever fires break out in my part of california is that i get to hear about which celebrities live close by, when they get affected and the news picks it up. i've known about rdj's residence(s) already so nothing new there, but i didn't hear anything about him after the fire next to pepperdine last month (which was actually closer to his place than the palisades fire, though the latter is a lot worse) so that kind of puts this situation into perspective (what becomes newsworthy as a means of assessing how bad it is: last month it was cher and dick van dyke in the local news, this time it's rdj, so ⚖️)

the wind got really bad for a bit there—hurricane force—but it wasn't as intense as it was last month, and yet for whatever reason the power situation seems to keep getting extended this time; now it's looking like it could take as long as until saturday to restore, which really sucks. i know that there's people who are way more impacted than i am by this mess (including people i know; i offered to shelter some of them, but traffic conditions made it too hard to get to me), and so far i'm not at any imminent evacuation risk (though some of these fires have been getting too close for comfort), but i'm still not having a good time, here. day 1 of a power outage can be kinda fun, if still annoying -- you get to cancel all your appointments and light all the candles and putter around a spooky kitchen cooking soup by lamplight and carrying a flashlight all through the dark, quiet house while your dog trails behind you wherever you go (she doesn't like this wind, either), and there's something cozy about that. but eventually the novelty wears off and the lukewarm running water is becoming an issue and WHY DID I HAVE TO BUY SUCH EXPENSIVE GROCERIES 😫 right before the fridge lost power (i wanted to treat myself for my birthday last week so i went to follow your heart in canoga park and went on a vegan gourmet donut /carrot cake/what-have-you shopping spree before hitting up erewhon[$$$] on the way home) and you use way too much of your remaining laptop battery life to bingewatch the two seasons of 'the newsreader' (SO GOOD) that you torrented, and the lack of sleep from the too-noisy weather and helicopters circling and the agitated dog that keeps nervously cuddling up against you and the stress-brain that won't turn off, reminding you of all the things you'd have to do in the event of an evacuation and coming up with SO MANY WAYS things could go wrong (and then managing to find ways of making those scenarios even worse around 3-4am, by which time you've basically given up on actually sleeping).

ok. this is long now. anyway what i was getting at is that the punchline throughout all of this is that there's a silver lining in these situations, which is that i find myself suddenly very interested in reading fics again (an interest that i've been struggling with reviving lately), so i'm making a relatively good dent in my reading list right now. i have more to say about the recent stony holiday exchange and how much fun i had with one fic in particular, but it seems that all of that will have to wait even longer. was that what i wanted to say with this post?? i don't even know anymore. i'm gonna go light the pilot on my stove with a match and boil water in a pot instead of my electric kettle and make myself a very belated cup of morning tea. bye bye (for now).

[myautumnrose]

Tigers Always Stick Together

Day 9: Wildcard/Free Day

@hss-appreciation-events

Prepare yourself, its a long one!

(MINOR SWEARING WARNING TOWARDS THE END!!)

It was the last quarter of senior year. Soon to be the close of their time at Berry High. Soon to finally move on and join the rest of the world in adulthood.

Erica was finally coming home from cheer practice. As she started to head towards her house she noticed a few more cars around than usual.

"Huh? Erica blinked in confusion, That's weird?"

But Erica should of known who those cars belonged to...

When she finally got to her house she was greeted with a big surprise!

White, green, and orange decor was everywhere, loud music was playing, and in the living room was her mother Alice, step-father Scott, elder brothers, Ivy and Yarrow, Yarrow's "friends" Rye and Eris Huang, and Ivy's "little friend" Aislinn Tanaka were. They all were clapping and cheering! Yarrow let off a confetti gun despite Aislinn's surprise.

"W...w...what is all this?" Erica asked.

"What do you think my little Ibis?!" Scott responded.

Ibis...that sounded familiar but Erica couldn't really put her finger on it. She was totally lost. Erica's mother noticed her face then stepped forward.

"Erica, remember when you applied to the University of Miami for their Marine Biology program?" Alice asked.

Then suddenly the memories came back to her, the application process, the essay, and the transcripts. Then she remembered the tour and how much she liked the campus environment. It was there that she made the school her number one choice.

"D...did I get in?" Erica shyly asked.

"Dude! Yarrow exclaimed, Not only did you get in, but you also got a FUCKING FULL RIDE!!!!"

"ITSUKI!!!" Alice scolded.

"Sorry..." Yarrow apologized.

"Anyway. Ivy sighed, When mom told us the news last week we had to throw this for you."

Whether Erica's memory was bad or if Alice was really good at hiding Erica's mail, Erica did not see this coming. Erica started to cry, she couldn't believe that she was going to go to her dream school!

"Hey now, save the tears for the ocean!" Scott comforted.

"Sorry dad, I'm just so happy." Erica reassured.

"Well we are all so very proud of you!"

Everyone came around Erica to give her a big hug.

"Now lets have some cake!" Eris shouted.

"Uh..."Erica was about to ask.

"Don't worry kid, it's 100% vegan, we didn't forget."

"Thank you!!"

Later that day Erica was sitting in her room, day dreaming about what her classes were going to be like, how dorm life would be like, even wondering if she'll even go underwater for her studies. Just then Ivy and Yarrow came into the room with a phone in Yarrow's hand.

"Hey, Erica?" Ivy asked

"Yea" Erica responded.

"Its...its father...he's on the phone, he wanted to congratulate you too."

Erica took the phone and soon switched to Japanese.

"Hello father, did you hear what happened?!" Erica exclaimed.

"I did, I'm so proud of you!" Erica's father responded.

"Will they let me see you again before I go?"

"Hopefully, but don't let that stop you from celebrating, go and have fun my little Hanako!"

"I will father, I love you!"

"I love you too Hanako, now I my time is running out but we'll talk again ok?

"Ok, see you later"

Erica hanged up the phone, and smiled at her brothers.

"I can't believe that I'm going to my dream school!" Erica exclaimed.

"Proud for ya little sis! Yarrow smirked as he left, If your studying underwater and find underwater treasure hit me up!"

"Suki!" Ivy scolded.

"I'm just bullshitting"

Erica soon took her phone to call Caleb about the good news. She was literally shaking with excitement. Caleb soon picked up.

"Hello?" Caleb answered.

"Caleb! Guess what?!" Erica answered back.

"What?"

"I got into my dream school!! I'm going to the University of Miami!!!"

"Seriously, that's amazing babe!"

"I know!! Plus when we get here we can..."

Erica stopped in her tracks. Then the realization hit her like a brick. This means...this means her and Caleb won't be going to the same school. Its because Caleb was going to Morgan State University. They are going to be far apart. Not only that, but Emma is going to Hartfeld, Michael will be going to Colombia University, Myra and Sydney are going to Northwestern University, and Aiden and Maria are already at Terman U. The group is going to be spread apart. Then the anxiety started to kick in. Will all her friends forget about her? Will she forget them. Would her and Caleb work long-distance? Would they have to break up? Erica started to hyperventilate and Caleb noticed this.

"Erica...ERICA?! Caleb shouted.

"Y...yes?" Erica tried to answer.

"Erica! Calm down"

"I...I'm sorry, I just didn't think about…”

"Listen, we can all talk after school on Monday, but what we are not going to do is ruin a good day. So I need you to do me a favor."

"Yea?"

"Get some rest and enjoy your weekend ok? I want you to take care of yourself ok?"

"Ok."

"Ok, I love you."

"I love you too."

Erica hung up the phone and started to get ready for bed. What Caleb said was true, but some part of her didn't believe it. It was hard for her to accept that the group will soon disperse. She soon put on some ambiance and went to sleep.

That Monday came.

Caleb had everyone meet up in the parking lot after classes. Erica ran up to him planting a big kiss on the lips.

"Sheesh Erica, you're kissing him like he's going off to war or something." Michael snorted.

Erica was about to burst into tears but held it in. When everyone in the group finally showed up, Caleb facetimed Maria and Aiden.

"Ok look, Caleb stated, I know we are all going to go different colleges so we need to find a way to keep in touch."

"I thought we would all keep in touch automatically?" Emma asked.

The tears soon covered Erica's face. Then everyone noticed.

"I...I'm sorry, its just...Erica whimpered, I just didn't want us to leave and forget each other after graduation! I got accepted to my dream school and it just occurred to me that we'll all be split and I just...I just couldn't accept that!"

Erica looked down sobbing hard. When she looked up she saw the faces of her friends, some even with tears in their eyes as well. One of those being Michael. Michael soon put his foot down and looked up.

"Look! He said with a determined look on his face, When I came here, I didn't expect to have a friend group like this either, and while I don't know what the future holds, I know one thing..."

Michael then came in the middle.

"Tigers Always Stick Together! Michael shouted, So Erica you don't have to worry, we will never forget each other!

Michael held his hand out. Caleb placed his hand on Michael's. Followed by Emma, then Myra, then Sydney, then Caleb's phone with Aiden and Maria. The group looked at Erica. Then with a determined look she placed her hand on top.

"Tigers Always Stick Together!" Erica shouted.

The group then cheered on. Erica then smiled. She felt happy and secured. She finally believed that nothing could separate them. Not even states.

"Um children, Principal Hughs noted, I don't mean to break this little moment, but I think you all should head home, its getting late."

"Yes mam!" Erica noted.

Just as Erica was walking back to her car, Caleb stopped her.

"Hey listen...Caleb started to say, I just wanted to let you know that I love you."

"I love you too Caleb! Erica responded, It may feel weird with you all the way in Maryland but we will always see each other during break."

"Maryland?"

"Yea, you said that was your first choice right?"

"Erica, I'm going Florida State...Morgan was just one of the colleges I got accepted to."

"So...technically we'll be close?"

"Yeah, I tried to tell you over the phone but I think you needed a minute."

Erica smiled at her boyfriend. He was always so level headed and reasonable. She was blessed to have him.

"Caleb...Erica started to say, I love you so fucking much."

"I love you too Erica, though its still weird to see you cursing." Caleb responded.

Erica bopped him on the nose.

"Silly..."

The two parted ways and went home. Erica saw the fading Berry High behind her. She realized that its going to be ok.

Authors Note: This was a fun one to do. Since everyone liked the last story I decided to write another. I wished Choices would of told us what happens to the gang after high school, but I'll take a head canon or two. I want to thank @cadybear420 and @lover-also-fighter-also for hosting this fun event and hopefully I can do it again next year!

[lilac-hecox]

For Anthony's Day! Ian and Anthony celebrating his birthday together for the first time in forever. It's an intimate thing nothing too extravagant but good food and company and maybe a final confession as a birthday gift? Idk just ianthony cuteness

Ian/Anthony (Ianthony) - Sixteen Candles

--

“Have you ever seen the movie Sixteen Candles?” Ian asks. He adjusts his glasses, something he does when he’s a little nervous, that’s something new about him that Anthony has learned. Though, why Ian is nervous, Anthony doesn’t know. It’s just the two of them at Anthony’s place. It’s Anthony’s birthday, but the last thing he wanted was a big party or a lot of attention. Work has been intense lately, both Smosh and his solo channel. Anthony’s been tired, and he can’t say he is exactly thrilled at turning thirty-six years old.

So, when Ian suggested that he and Anthony go and grab dinner at Anthony’s favorite vegan restaurant, Anthony was quick to agree, happy to have a quiet evening with his best friend than a huge party with a lot of people. Most of the time, Ian was who he wanted to spend all his time with anyway. As they had eaten Anthony thought about New York, about missing Ian’s birthday, about calling the waiters over to bring a dessert to Ian and sing to him. Anthony had half-heartedly worried that this was going to be his payback, seven years later, but Ian granted him mercy and didn’t have anyone sing to him. Instead, they laughed together, shared stories, memories, nostalgia for birthdays past.

After the restaurant they ended up at Anthony’s place, intent on watching a movie that Ian had been begging him to watch. Drinking glasses of whiskey, sitting side by side on Anthony’s couch.

“No, is that what you wanted to watch?” Anthony asks, using the remote to begin searching for the title of the movie on the streaming service.

Ian smiles, a soft tilt of his mouth. “Not really, you probably wouldn’t like it. I barely like it.”

“Okay,” Anthony says. Ian’s caught his interest. He never really knows where Ian is going with something, but he’s always eager to follow, to find where his train of thought will lead them, “so, why bring it up?”

Ian leans forward and picks up his glass of alcohol, taking a sip before setting it back down on the coffee table in front of them. He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand and then stands up, from the couch, tilting his head towards the direction of the dining room.

“Follow me,” Ian says, instead of explaining shit.

Anthony stands, following Ian to the dining room of Anthony’s house.

“In the movie,” Ian says, as they walk, “all you really need to know is that there’s a girl and a boy, girl likes boy, boy doesn’t know she exists, then at the very end they find their way to each other.”

“Sounds like most rom coms,” Anthony says.

“Right,” Ian says. Then, they are in the kitchen and Ian stops the two of them in the darkened space, “There’s kind of an iconic scene in the movie. It’s been parodied a lot. All you really need to know is that the girl, it’s her birthday, and the guy surprises her.”

Anthony’s brow furrows. Ian is smiling like an idiot and it makes Anthony smile despite the feeling of nerves rising up inside of him. Ian keeps walking and he leads Anthony into the dining room. The lights are off, but in the center of the long table is a cake, small, professionally decorated.

“How the hell did you manage to set up a cake in here without me knowing?” Anthony asks, turning to look at Ian.

Ian shrugs, “You were in the bathroom, and I made sure to hurry.”

“So,” Anthony says with a laugh, though his heart fills with fondness for his best friend, for what he did. Ian has always been more of a show and less of a tell kind of person. It was like that with the get-well card back in the day, with this cake now, he is less likely to tell Anthony that he cares about him but more likely to show it in small gestures like this, in surprising him with a birthday cake, “you’re saying you set me up my own Sixteen Candles iconic scene?”

Ian nods, his eyes bright, and he fidgets again, nerves peeking through his actions.  

“Except it isn’t the full scene yet. Our actors need to be in place.”

Anthony smiles, glancing at the set-up before he looks back at Ian.

“Alright, direct me.”

Anthony swears he sees the lightest flush of pink color Ian’s cheeks, but it’s hard to tell in the dimness of the room.

“You and I sit on top of the table, legs crossed, across from each other on opposite sides of the cake,” Ian explains, his voice smaller, Anthony knows it from when he is doubting himself and his ideas, when he acts like he isn’t thinking of pure genius.

Anthony nods and tugs at the sleeve of Ian’s jacket, “C’mon then.”

They recreate the scene easily. Anthony on the right side of the cake, Ian on the left, their legs folded so they both fit on top of the long dining room table.

“It is vegan,” Ian says after a moment of silence. Maybe he sees the hint of confusion on Anthony’s face because he waves a hand at the dessert between them, “the cake, I mean.”

“I never had any doubts,” Anthony says. He feels that soft squeeze in his heart. Ian did this for him, put this together for no reason besides that he wanted to, that he wanted to do this for Anthony.

“Finishing touches,” Ian says, fishing into the pocket of his jacket before he pulls out a lighter. It’s then that Anthony notices the long thin candles stuck into the surface of the cake. Not sixteen, not thirty-six either. It’s a strategic smattering of candles, Ian using that filmmaker’s eye to predict the perfect amount.

Ian flicks the lighter to life and lights the candles and then the room glows around them in a hazy orange, light and shadow dancing across Ian’s face as he leans back and settles into his spot, tucking his lighter back into his pocket.

“So, how does the movie end?” Anthony finds himself asking, his voice quieter than it should be, but he can feel an undercurrent of magic in this moment, and he doesn’t want to disrupt it, he wants to live alongside of it, exist in this moment with Ian, no matter where it leads.

Ian glances at him, candlelight caught in his glasses and Anthony can barely see the blue of his eyes, but he knows it’s there.

“I’m going to, um, go a little off script here,” Ian says, and he sounds nervous now.

“I trust you,” Anthony says with a smile, because he does, he always will.

“I’m glad to spend your birthday with you,” Ian says, “just the two of us. It makes me feel like a kid again in some ways, where we’d spend the night with each other on our birthdays, eat cake ‘till we felt sick, and laugh all night.”

Anthony grins at the memory, frosting and Ian’s laugh, and the warmth of knowing you had a constant companion always at your side. He’s missed that feeling these last few birthdays. There were always people, always well-wishes, but never Ian. Never who Anthony wanted to see the most.

“I’m glad you’re here with me,” Anthony says, his own face feeling warm and his heart feeling full. He feels the damn pinpricks of affection poking at him, threatening to make him tear up and really it is only Ian and their shared memories and history that has this effect on him. “Thank you for this. You’re my best friend.”

Ian nods, “What if…what if I wanted to be more than that now?”

Anthony blinks, feels like he’s been punched, but in a good way. All the air knocked out of his lungs, but something new filling him, like he’s evolved past the need for oxygen.

“What?”

Ian straightens his jacket, “Since we reconnected I…God, man, you know I’m shitty at this right?” Ian laughs and Anthony feels a smile crack across his face even though he can barely breathe in this moment, “I can feel myself falling in love with you.” “Ian,” Anthony says, breathless, surprised. This was the last thing he expected, but it felt like everything he’s ever wanted, but been too afraid to ask for, a wish he’s convinced himself he’ll never get to have. Deep down, he knows it’s true for Ian, for himself too.

“It’s okay if you don’t feel the same way!” Ian says quickly, “I understand it’s-“

“Stop,” Anthony says, and he reaches around the cake, safely avoiding the fire as he takes Ian’s hand in his own, rubbing his thumb across the back of Ian’s hand. “I feel it too.”

Ian smiles, shaky, a little breathless of his own.

Anthony keeps rubbing his thumb across the smooth skin of Ian’s hand.

“Will you tell me how the movie ends?” Anthony asks, feeling he already has an idea.

“It ends like any good teenaged romance. The girl gets her movie perfect kiss.”

Anthony smiles, leans in, careful of the candles he can feel the warmth from. Ian mimics the motion, copying him, their faces close together.

“Happy birthday, Anthony,” Ian whispers, Anthony can feel the heat from the words on his face.

“Thank you, Ian.”

Then, they meet in the middle, their lips touching in a movie perfect kiss.