#artificial ice rinks

[icemagicsynthetic]

Why Synthetic Ice Rink Hire is the Ultimate Party Idea

Planning an event can be a daunting task, especially when you're searching for ways to make it truly unforgettable. Whether it's a birthday celebration, corporate event, or community gathering, synthetic ice rink hire is a unique and thrilling idea that guarantees fun for everyone. Here's why incorporating a synthetic ice rink into your party is the ultimate way to create memorable moments.

[rinksystems]

High-Quality Artificial Ice Skating Rink & Practice Goals

Discover the perfect artificial ice skating rink by Rink Systems, ideal for training in any season. Our practice goals offer realistic skating and are easy to maintain. Experience top-quality materials designed to enhance your practice sessions. 

[forever-ev]

Christmas in NYC With a Baby

Word count: 843

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Peter steps out of the car, his boots softly crunching in the snow and opens your daughter's door. She rubs her eyes and waves to her dad.

"Dada?" She whispers tiredly, slowly waking up.

"Hi, baby, how was your nap?" He asks softly, unbuckling her car seat as you step out of the car. You walk to her side too and watch as he gently lifts her up and helps her put on her coat. He slips her boots back onto her feet and puts her on his side. You walk over to the trunk of the car and pull out her stroller, diaper bag, and a baby carrier.

"Alright, sweetheart, you ready?" He says fondly and she babbles happily. "I'll take that as a yes."

"Do you want the baby carrier or stroller?" You ask him, holding up both.

"Baby carrier for now probably. It's cold, she'll probably want my body heat."

He brushes some of her brunette curls off her face. The baby carrier is handed to him and Charlotte is passed to you so he can get situated. You bounce her on your hip as he straps himself in and you hand her back when he reaches for her. He buckles her in, and you place the diaper bag into the stroller. Charlotte looks up and points her tiny finger at the snow covering the ground.

"Sow." She exclaims and you both chuckle warmly.

"Yeah, Charlie, snow!" You exclaim with her.

Peter begins to walk along the sidewalk with you holding his hand. Charlotte points at some Christmas lights on a building and her face lights up brighter than those artificial lights. Christmas music floats through the air outside and she babbles happily against his chest. You give him a quick kiss as you reach the main event. The large Christmas tree extends high into the sky and glitters against the dark night sky. Charlotte lets out a sound of awe and Peter catches her pacifier before it can fall to the ground.

"Whoa there, Charlie, don't drop your paci!" He slips it into the diaper bag and rubs a hand up her back.

She giggles a little but goes right back to staring in awe at the large tree.

"Tee!" She giggles out.

"Yeah, baby, tree!" You smile at her, "Just like our tree at home."

She continues to babble happily at the tree, and she points at the ice skating rink and looks back at Peter.

"Dada, go?" He chuckles and walks with you to the ice skating area.

"One day we can go there but for now you're too little." He smiles down at her.

She lays her head against his chest again and yawns looking between all the lights and the ginormous tree. He slips her pacifier back into her mouth and looks back over to you.

"Peter! Oh my God, look at the tree!" You looks amazed and a little chuckle escapes you.

"You've seen the tree every year since you moved here!" He protests lightly.

"I know, but like look at that!" You sigh breathily.

"We only got to catch the end of it this year, didn't we? I think next year we'll just watch it on TV."

You nod and hug him, placing a kiss on the top of your baby's head. The tree finishes it's lighting and Peter carefully transitions Charlotte into her stroller and covers her with a blanket. Peter gently takes your hand in his and begins to push Charlotte's stroller along the sidewalk until you reach the shops. You walk into a comic book store and Charlotte briefly opens her eyes to look around at the shelves. Peter walks over to a display while you stay by the entrance looking at the Legos.

"Hey, baby, look at this! A Spiderman Lego set!" You call out.

He lets out a snort and jokes, "Maybe we should get that for our bedroom."

"That actually might be a good idea." You smile at it, slightly shaking your head, "See anything else good?"

"Yeah. Let's get that Spiderman figurine." He grins over at you, "I think Charlotte is getting tired and I don't want to mess with her sleep too much so let's just pay and get to the car. I can already see her falling asleep." He lets out a quiet chuckle and you both walk over to the checkout counter.

"Big Spiderman fans?" The cashier asks lightly while scanning your items.

"Oh yeah, giant Spiderman fan." You remark, then look over at Peter and wink jokingly after paying.

Peter walks with you right to the car and carefully buckles Charlotte into her car seat while you load up your stuff into the trunk. The drive home is almost silent except for the sounds of the soft snoring of your daughter and the faint Christmas music coming from different houses and buildings around. You end up falling asleep fifteen minutes into the car ride and your snores blend with Charlotte's to create the funniest yet most soothing sound Peter's ever heard.

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[lau219]

After Hours Head Canon: Christmas Edition

In response to my friend, @an-eclectic-of-mass-destruction, who sent me an ask on the topic, here’s a glimpse of Robert and Y/N’s first Christmas together as a couple…

🌟 Since his mother’s passing, Robert hasn’t really celebrated Christmas, except in the very surface-level way of office Christmas parties and generic Christmas cards to and from colleagues. He’s not too into Christmas, and it’s somewhat sad for him, due to the connection of the loss of his mother.

🎅🏼 Despite her own jovial attitude towards Christmas, Y/N knows that celebrating isn’t what Robert’s used to and that it’s a sensitive thing for him due to his mother’s death. So she is very respectful of that and tries not to overstep too much.

🎄 She gently probes Robert for stories of his childhood Christmases, and when he reveals that his mother always used to take him ice skating and then they’d decorate the tree together, Y/N tries to re-create that for him.

❄️ However, when she learns that Robert doesn’t even own an artificial Christmas tree or any ornaments, she encourages him to get them. At first, Robert brushes off the idea, saying that he’s survived this long without one and it isn’t necessary. However, as soon as Y/N asks him once more to go shopping for a tree and decorations, he’s quickly changing his mind, even though he’s still a bit reluctant.

🌟 “Please, Robbie?” Y/N begs him in a soft voice, giving him that little pout he can never say no to as she wraps her arms around his waist and presses against him. “I really want you to have a tree. It’s not Christmas without a tree!”

🎅🏼 Caving almost instantly, despite his better judgment, Robert agrees and lets Y/N drag him to the store for some holiday shopping. And she’s also insisting on getting a real tree rather than an artificial one.

🎄 Robert soon finds himself standing in the middle of a Christmas tree lot and being pulled around by the hand by Y/N as she makes him help choose a tree. And then he’s doing something he never thought he’d be doing, which is tying a live Christmas tree to the roof of his Bentley.

❄️ One of the rare occasions where Y/N uses Robert’s money to her advantage (she only ever does when she knows it’s something that will benefit Robert), she then walks around the store with no holding back as she grabs every single decoration and box of ornaments she wants to get, regardless of cost.

🌟 She also proceeds to buy them matching Christmas pajamas, and when Robert protests, Y/N just sweetly tells him to shush and puts them in the cart. After a kiss and another pout from Y/N, Robert’s no longer arguing.

🎅🏼 They then head to the ice rink, where they rent horribly crummy skates, and neither of them can stop laughing as they proceed to fall all over each other as they wobble their way around the ice.

🎄 Once they’re back at Robert’s, they put up and decorate the tree together, and as they do, Robert can’t help but smile as Y/N get so excited about it and he sees how much she just wants him to enjoy himself.

❄️ After they decorate the tree, Y/N asks Robert if there are any Christmas movies he likes, and when he reveals that he’s never seen White Christmas, Y/N proceeds to make them popcorn and bake some chocolate chip cookies (Robert’s favorite) before bringing it all into the living room with some apple cider and pulling up the movie on the TV.

🌟 Pajamas donned and snacks at the ready, they proceed to snuggle under a blanket on the couch and watch the movie, Y/N constantly side-eyeing Robert to see if he seems to be enjoying it.

🎅🏼 Towards the end of the movie, Y/N falls asleep against Robert, snuggled into his chest with his arms around her, and it’s the happiest Robert has ever felt, aside of course, from when he and Y/N finally got together.

🎄 When the movie ends, Robert tries not to wake Y/N up, but she surprises him by sleepily asking him, “Did you like it?” with her eyes still closed, and he smiles and gives her a kiss on the head. “I loved it,” Robert replies as he hugs her closer.

❄️ Opening her eyes and turning in his arms, Y/N tells Robert there’s still one thing they need to do. She then proceeds to pull a small bunch of mistletoe out that she had hiding behind the couch cushion.

🌟 Holding the mistletoe above their heads, Y/N leans forward and gives Robert a sweet kiss, but she’s soon dropping it when Robert pulls her into his lap. After a mini make-out session, Y/N pulls back from Robert slightly to look at him.

🎅🏼 “Thank you for letting me force all this on you,” Y/N says to him softly, stroking the nape of his neck as they look at each other with so much love.

🎄 “No,” Robert replies, shaking his head as he gives her an adoring smile. “Thank you for making this the best Christmas I’ve ever had.”

@an-eclectic-of-mass-destruction @vervainandspritz @xsweetcatastrophe @toobusyshrimping @teawonderfultea-blog1

@meister95 @empatheticlove @breakthestereo @mrs-bond @pkmonka

@wonderlanddreamer @nyxxie-pooh @febris-amatoria @bleakmidwinter00 @randomcreator-09

@cillmurphyslover @hairica @sasha28x

[sunrenity]

TAKE A CHANCE WITH ME — those fucking rink rats!

SYNOPSIS. you hated all hockey players, to say the least. sim jake hated how you met his gaze with obliviousness, unaware that he was irrevocably captivated by you, who not only deemed love overrated but also harbored a strong dislike for him, all because he was a hockey player.

p hockey player! sim jake x fem!reader  .  ft  enemy!heeseung, twin brother!sunghoon  .  g  hockey player x figure skater, strangers to enemies (one-sided at first) to lovers fluff, college au, pinning  .  w  cussing, blood, swearing, lowercase  .  wc  1726 (1.7k)  .  bookshelf

series masterlistㅤ ㅤ ㅤnextㅤ ㅤ ㅤ

THE COLD AIR NIPPED at your cheeks, painting a rosy hue on your face as you settled onto the frosty seat beside the school's ice rink. the metal bench sent a shiver through you as you began the familiar ritual of securing the laces of your ice skates. yet, you seemed unaware of the aggression in your actions as you tightened them, the sharp metal eyelets clinking with each forceful pull. your visible anger was palpable, a simmering emotion on the verge of boiling over.

the frigid ambiance of the rink surrounded you, the sharp scent of cold air filling your lungs with each inhale. the ice glistened under the artificial lights, a pristine surface awaiting the graceful movements of figure skaters. despite the serene appearance, tension crackled in the air, and it wasn't solely a result of the chilly temperature.

as you meticulously started fastening the second skate, your fingers deftly navigating the familiar loops and hooks, your focus remained on the frosty expanse of the rink before you. the ice gleamed under the rink's artificial lights, promising a canvas for elegant spins and precise jumps in the upcoming training session.

beside you, your twin brother, sunghoon, who's older by a mere three seconds, settled onto the cold bench, his brown hair obscuring a portion of his eyes. the frosty air seemed to mirror the anticipation that lingered between you two. both of you were gearing up for the first day of training on the ice after your initial day of college, a familiar routine amid the transition to a new academic year.

he glanced at you, a curious expression in his eyes, "so, how do you feel about sharing the ice with the hockey players?"

the mere mention of those hockey players sent a shiver down your spine, a visceral reaction to the looming presence of a group you harbored a deep disdain for. it was as if the temperature dropped a few degrees around you, the chill matching the frosty atmosphere of the rink. you shot sunghoon a look, a silent acknowledgment of the shared disdain for the hockey players at your school.

with a heavy sigh, you continued fastening the straps, the cold metal biting into your fingertips. "sharing the ice with those rink rats? ugh, don't even get me started, sunghoon. i can't stand them, and you know that very well," you grumbled, casting a disdainful glance toward the rink. determination etched across your face, you tightened the last strap with precision, as if channeling your frustration into the action.

sunghoon, sensing your frustration, nodded knowingly. his understanding gaze lingered on you for a moment before he shifted his attention to the laces of his own figure skating shoes. "yeah, it's not ideal. but it's just temporary, right? their rink will be fixed soon, and we won't have to deal with them anymore."

despite the reassurance, the thought of enduring their presence for what felt like an eternity irked you. the hockey players' rink had broken over the summer — rumors circulated, hinting at sabotage, possibly orchestrated by rival schools envious of your school's hockey team, who had clinched victory the previous year — leaving the figure skaters with no choice but to share the ice.

"well, you better brace yourself. looks like they're headed our way." sunghoon remarked, his eyes shifting toward the approaching group of hockey players, each one fully geared up and exuding a confidence that bordered on arrogance. the swagger in their steps announced their arrival like a storm on the horizon. an annoyed exchange of glances between you and your brother silently acknowledged the impending clash.

as the hockey players confidently took to the ice, coach baek's voice resonated, breaking the tense atmosphere, "figure skaters, on the ice!" every figure skater, regardless of their sentiments, needed to participate in the shared training.

the contrast between the figure skaters and the hockey players was palpable — the elegant spins and graceful maneuvers of figure skaters clashed starkly with the powerful strides and aggressive moves of the hockey players

reluctantly, you and sunghoon made your way onto the shared ice, the chill seeping through your skates mirroring the frosty atmosphere. as you joined the other figure skaters, you couldn't help but feel a sense of solidarity among your peers – a shared discontentment with the temporary arrangement.

the hockey players, seemingly oblivious to the tension, went about their training with a level of boisterous enthusiasm that grated on your nerves. coach lee, their commanding presence overseeing the training, added to the cacophony as he barked instructions, the contrast to coach baek's composed demeanor striking.

sunghoon gave you an encouraging nod, silently conveying that you both needed to make the best of the situation.

coach baek's authoritative voice rang out, "all right, let's start with spins and jumps. show them what figure skaters are made of!"

you see, the hatred wasn't only between the students; it permeated the very fabric of the ice rink. the two coaches, baek and lee, harbored a mutual disdain for each other.

as you gracefully executed spins and jumps, attempting to maintain composure in the uneasy atmosphere, the unfamiliar tension between figure skaters and hockey players lingered in the air. sunghoon, by your side, mirrored your determination.

mid-spin, the world blurred around you, the rhythmic pattern of your routine momentarily transporting you to a familiar sanctuary. you felt at home, completely immersed in the moment. however, the sanctuary shattered as a sudden, searing impact disrupted your concentration. a hockey puck struck your nose, an intense, sharp pain radiating through your face. the metallic taste of blood filled your mouth, and crimson droplets stained the pristine ice beneath you. simultaneously, another puck hit your leg, throwing you off balance, and you found yourself tumbling onto the unforgiving surface.

those fucking rink rats!

shock and discomfort enveloped you as you lay there, momentarily stunned. the cold ice beneath you offered a stark contrast to the warmth of the blood that now trickled down from your injured nose.

amidst the disarray, the atmosphere became charged with tension. heeseung, seemingly reveling in the chaos, wore a smug smirk that spoke volumes of satisfaction. beside him, a nervous-looking boy with jet-black hair that fell in messy waves over his forehead — who you had never seen before, not to mention — hesitated for a moment before breaking away from heeseung's side. ignoring the leader of the hockey players, he rushed towards you, concern etched on his face.

heeseung's condescending remarks echoed, "accidents happen, figure skater. maybe watch where you're spinning next time." his words only fueled the anger within you, but the black-haired boy seemed genuinely apologetic, his eyes reflecting a sense of regret.

the figure skaters, including sunghoon, shot disapproving glares at heeseung, demanding respect. the black-haired boy knelt beside you, offering a tentative hand, "i'm sorry about that. are you okay?"

your initial pride fueled a refusal, and you scoffed at the black-haired boy's attempt to help. the disdain for hockey players echoed in your mind, and you tried to rise independently, determined to maintain your composure. his extended hand hung in the air momentarily before you slapped it away with a curt gesture, resisting any form of assistance.

"i don't need your help," you said, your glare aimed at him, your words a defiant assertion of independence.

yet, as you tried to rise, the pain in your leg intensified, sending a jolt of discomfort through your body. stubbornness gave way to necessity, and reluctantly, you conceded. the boy, undeterred by your initial rejection, gently offered his support once more. his expression sincere as he insisted, "let me help you. it's the least i can do."

sighing in reluctant acceptance, you finally yielded to the black-haired boy's outstretched hand. the texture of his palm against yours was surprisingly warm. his grip was unexpectedly strong as he helped you up, guiding you to a sitting position on the bench.

the disapproval in sunghoon's eyes intensified, a silent commentary on the compromise you had made. his gaze held a mix of concern for your well-being and displeasure at the necessity of accepting help from an unexpected source.

heeseung, too, watched with disdain, his upper lip curled in a scoffing expression as the black-haired boy assisted you. his eyes bore into the scene, a silent commentary on his lack of empathy.

"i'm really sorry. i didn't mean for that to happen," the black-haired boy reiterated.

his gaze flickered towards heeseung briefly, as if seeking approval or reassurance, but was only met with a cold glare.

with a gulp, he added, "uhm, i could bring you to the school's nursing room, if you want? you do have a nursing room, right?"

despite your lingering reservations, the unexpected kindness and genuine remorse in the black-haired boy's demeanor left you conflicted. you hesitated for a moment, glancing at sunghoon, who nodded subtly, silently agreeing to accept the offer of assistance.

with a reluctant nod, you consented to let him guide you to the school's nursing room "yeah, sure. the nursing room is... that way," you gestured vaguely, realizing that the black-haired boy likely had no idea where it was.

as he took a step closer to help you stand, his hands found a secure grip on your upper arms, offering both support and stability. his touch was unexpectedly gentle, fingers firm yet careful as he assisted you in getting back on your feet.

a sharp pang of pain in your leg reminded you of the injury, but the black-haired boy's steadying presence provided a counterbalance. his hands, now subtly adjusting to support your waist, guided you towards the exit of the ice rink. your arm instinctively wrapped around his neck, seeking additional support and maintaining balance.

meanwhile, sunghoon approached the unfamiliar hockey player, his initial skepticism palpable. "hey, thanks for helping my sister. i'm sunghoon, by the way," he said, eyeing the boy cautiously.

the tension between figure skaters and hockey players lingered, and sunghoon couldn't completely let his guard down.

the boy nodded, offering a genuine smile, "no problem. i'm jake, new to the college and the hockey team. once again, i didn't mean for any of this to happen."

sunghoon's skepticism softened slightly at jake's introduction, appreciating the courtesy. "well, thanks anyway. keep an eye on heeseung, though. he can be trouble."

taglist ,ㅤ @nyfwyeonjun @sakiimeo @makiswrld @143ikeu @psh-pjh

© sunrenity , don't plagiarize, steal or repost my work on any platform !

[valentinoappreciator]

There's a First Time for Everything

A quick little drabble I put together after seeing the cutest radiostatic fanart <3 I haven't written for these two disasters before, so please forgive me, and don't be meanies about it ;v;

The post with the fanart can be found here: https://www.tumblr.com/byrdnight/768971048708374529?source=share Credit for the idea goes to @byrdnight, tagging you so you can read it as well :D

Media: Hazbin Hotel

Pairing: Alastor x Vox

Rating: M for Mature (nothing explicit, only a few references to actual nsfw stuff)

Word count: 2.8k

Tags included but not limited to: Established RadioStatic, implied / referenced Valastor, implied / referenced StaticMoth, light kissing, ice skating, first time ice skating, light angst???, but so much fluff to make up for that

Where else to read: AO3. Username: TheWeirdDane. Title: There's a First Time for Everything

Author's note: First time writing for these two, but I couldn't help myself after seeing the art <3 I hope it's to everybody's liking!

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Dainty, white flakes drifted lazily through the crisp, cold air. Both were, of course, artificially created; things weren’t so fucked that Hell had frozen over yet. That didn’t take away from Vox’s almost childlike wonder at the snow, though. Alastor hummed softly and looked up into the red sky. 

“Are you about ready?” he asked with an aura of exasperation before turning his head to Vox, who was busy tying his skates. 

“Yeah yeah yeah, give me a moment,” Vox replied, tongue poking slightly out of his mouth, “these shoelaces are being annoying.”

Alastor rolled his eyes. 

“Well, you’ve got that in common.”

“Oh ouch,” Vox said flatly as he tied a knot on the skates’ laces and then stood up, turning to Alastor with an outstretched hand. 

“Well?” he said, and was surprised to see Alastor’s fluffy ears flatten against his head and Alastor turn a bit away from him. Vox frowned slightly, before figuring that Alastor maybe didn’t want to risk being seen with him in public like this. Well, he really should have thought about that before agreeing to go to the ice rink with him!

“Look,” Vox sighed, “if you changed your mind, you could’ve just told me so.”

“Would it have changed things?”

“Of course not. Now, come on, get on your feet and get out there.”

Alastor scowled up at him, refusing to take his hand. He crossed his legs and his arms, clinging to his microphone stand. Now it was Vox’s time to roll his eyes. 

“If you’re going to be a big baby about it, you can sulk in silence,” he muttered and pushed himself away from the rink’s half-walls to glide onto the ice. 

The cold air brushed against his face, and Vox took a deep breath in, closed his eyes, and let the breath out just as slowly. Oh, how he had missed this from his childhood! He vividly remembered going to the ice rinks with his mother and father. Remembered the excitement, the way he barely had to put effort into moving, the way his parents looked at him when they thought he wasn’t looking. Beaming, full of admiration. 

Like they thought he could get far with his ice skating skills. It was a wonderful memory. 

Vox kept his eyes closed for a couple of seconds, leaning full-tilt into the warmth of the memory. It was only him and Alastor here, after all, there was quite literally no risk of bumping into anyone non-important and cutting off their ankles. Unfortunately. It was an ice rink only for the absolute elite. Only for the most powerful of Overlords. 

He put one foot in front of the other and pushed the slightest bit, easily and smoothly gliding forward. Rinse and repeat. 

When Vox opened his eyes, feeling like all the passion of the Sun was glittering in them, he found Alastor, still sitting on the bench, still with his limbs crossed, still clutching his stupid microphone stand. But, as opposed to before, he was now watching Vox curiously, his ears perked. He caught Vox staring at him, and promptly looked up into the sky again. 

Vox rolled his eyes again before nimbly switching course, sliding towards Alastor with his hands behind his back. 

“What is it, Bambi? Afraid you’ll slip and fall on the ice?” he grinned and slid to a stop in front of him, shredding a bit of ice that landed on Alastor’s black pants. Alastor looked at him with as much disapproval as he could, which was a lot.

“Oh come on, Alastor,” Vox groaned and grabbed his arm, trying to pull him up. But Alastor was stubborn as a mule and didn’t budge. “What’s your fucking damage? I asked if you wanted to go to the ice rink with me, and you agreed. Now you won’t--- you haven’t even put on the skates?”

Alastor glared up at him, his ears flat against his head once more. He huffed and turned his head away from Vox. Vox groaned loudly and shook his head, both hands on his hips. 

“Should’ve fucking guessed,” he grumbled. “You really are just a big coward. You never try anything new and fun.” 

“Valentino begs to differ.”

“Fucking excuse me?” Vox hissed between gritted teeth, lifting one leg and slamming the skate’s blade down into the wooden bench so that he could lean down into Alastor’s personal bubble. He didn’t care if the blade got dulled from the action; he needed to know what the fuck Alastor’s problem was. 

Alastor growled quietly, pressing himself back against the bench as his ears went completely flat against his head. 

“I know Val fucks you regularly, so why are you acting like there’s a massive fucking stick up your ass? If you didn’t want to do ice skating with me, you could’ve just said so!”

“It’s not because it’s with you,” Alastor snapped back, clearly surprised by his own words. Vox blinked in surprise, but the fiery annoyance in his chest wasn’t dying down. 

“Then, pray fucking tell, what is it? Because you’re acting like a total prick right now.”

Alastor looked away for so long that Vox was tempted to push away again. Then The Radio Demon mumbled something. Mumbled. Not speaking loud and clear. Vox had to even look at his lips moving to make sure he was speaking. 

“I don’t want to look like a fool.”

“There’s no one here but us,” Vox said irritably, gesturing to the completely empty ice rink. Alastor seemed to kind of curl in on himself, as he sat there on the bench. He hid his lower face in his scarf. 

“I’m quite aware of that.”

Vox glared at Alastor, about to yell at him some more, when he had an epiphany. 

Wait... 

“Wait,” he said slowly, drawing out the word and watching how Alastor winced, “are you... afraid of looking stupid in front of... me?”

This got Alastor to glare back at him, ire in his eyes. Vox blinked down at him, utterly perplexed. Well, this was new. Usually, Alastor was so suave and nonchalant, so this came completely from left field. 

“But... I’m your boyfriend.”

“I’m quite aware, regrettably,” Alastor scoffed. 

Vox rolled his eyes once more. 

“I mean, you idiot, that you shouldn’t have to worry about looking stupid in front of me because we’re dating. I don’t care if you look stupid. You’re the prettiest motherfucker around.”

A beat of silence. Alastor blushed slightly. Vox cleared his throat. 

“Maybe don’t mention that to Val, though.”

Alastor was quiet, and Vox sighed. Despite the many layers of clothing, he was starting to get a bit chilly. 

“Look, Al. Just... I don’t care about looking stupid. Not when it’s you. My brand is perfection, but I’m not working right now, am I?”

“In those clothes? I certainly hope not.”

Vox pretended not to have heard him. 

“So just, please, relax. Put on the skates and join me out on the ice, please?”

Alastor glanced up at him as he dug his skate out of the bench. 

“I have never done this before,” he then revealed, again in a low mumble. 

Somehow, for some reason, this made Vox smile. A genuine, warm smile. The fire that had once been one of annoyance now became one of fondness, but he would be double-damned before he admitted that. Alastor was... willing to do this with him? Something he hadn’t tried before? Even if it made him look ridiculous? As far as Vox was concerned, there was no greater declaration of love. 

“That’s okay,” he said softly and cupped Alastor’s cheeks with his hands, the claws gingerly scratching through his hair. “We’ll take it slow. I’m a good teacher.”

Alastor huffed, but couldn’t run from the blush on his face. Vox smirked. 

“Now now, no salacious thoughts, young man.”

Alastor’s face went beet red, and Vox laughed gently. 

“I’m kidding. Come.” 

He pulled back and grabbed Alastor’s skates lying next to him before starting to kneel. 

“Please?”

Alastor was quiet for a long moment. Then he sighed deeply, rolling his eyes and putting his usual face back on. His legs uncrossed, and he bent down to take off his shoes. 

“Do you even beg this much for Valentino?” he asked jokingly. Vox grinned. 

“Only when he’s being extra insidious.” This got a warm and heart-felt chuckle out of Alastor, who proceeded to take off his shoes and replace them with the red-and-black ice skates in Vox’s hands. Vox tied them for him in silence. 

When the laces were done up and tied with a pretty knot at the top, Vox stood up without so much as a wobble. He reached his hands out to Alastor, who seemed to regret this whole thing, but nonetheless put his own hands in Vox’s. 

“I’m gonna pull now,” Vox warned, and tugged gently. Alastor followed, immediately wobbling and clinging to Vox. 

Vox would have been a lying bastard if he said he didn’t like it. Not that he couldn’t live with being accused of being a lying bastard. He had been called much worse, and much more accurate, things through the years. 

Alastor was wonderfully warm against him. He smelled nice, too. Well, Vox had to hand it to Valentino, the pimp had an uncanny ability to get people to present themself as nicely as they could. For Alastor, that meant taking actual regular showers and using cologne. He still hadn’t learned how to use a comb or a brush, though. 

“This was a mistake,” he hissed, ears flat and eyes closed tightly.

“Calm down,” Vox said soothingly and straightened, putting a hand on the small of his back. “Easy. Easy does it. Stand up straight. You can hold on to me if you need to.”

Alastor did need to hold on to Vox as he slowly, very slowly, stood up straight. His hands had an iron grip on Vox’s arms. In turn, Vox gently held Alastor. They stood like that for a little while. 

“There you go, that’s a good posture!” he praised, noting the flush going across Alastor’s face and filing this away for later blackmailing purposes. “Now, I’m going to go backwards, okay? You keep holding on to me.”

“No, no no!” Alastor yelped as Vox slid backwards a bit, forcing Alastor to move. 

“It’s okay, you’re doing great. It’s okay.”

He kept his gaze firmly locked on Alastor as he scooted further back. There was something almost akin to panic in Alastor’s eyes as they held Vox’s gaze, but Vox did his best to be calm and reassuring and soothing. Eventually, it had to rub off on Alastor. 

“See? You’re doing great!” he praised again after having moved a few feet and Alastor was still standing. Wobbling and uncertain, but standing nonetheless. 

“Shut up,” Alastor hissed, looking like someone spending all of his energy focusing on staying standing. His cheeks were burning red, his eyes wide open, his lips pressed together in a tight line. “Don’t patronize me.”

“I’m not. I’m being serious, believe it or not.”

They continued like that for a little while; Vox skating backwards and forcing Alastor to move as well. It was utterly clumsy and without elegance or grace, but Vox didn’t care. He was just happy - thrilled - that he got to do this with Alastor. 

As they went, Vox gave him tips and advice on how to move his feet and how to keep his posture. He wasn’t sure how much of it he retained, but he could see improvement after just a couple of rounds on the ice rink. He made sure to let Alastor know that his posture was improving and that his steps seemed to become more confident. Alastor glared at him, but Vox liked to think it was all a façade. 

Not that it mattered all that much, though. He got to be close to Alastor, didn’t he? And really, wasn’t that the stuff dreams were made of? 

“Okay, Al, you’re doing really great now. I feel confident in letting---”

“You are not letting go,” Alastor hissed immediately, clinging even harder to Vox’s arms, to the point that Vox had to stop himself from wincing. 

“You’ll be fine,” he promised.

“Vox, no,” Alastor continued, “you are not letting go so soon, you slimy little---”

“I’ll cut you a deal.”

“...” His ears perked adorably. 

“If you fall on your pretty ass, which I know you won’t, I will refrain from being smug and snarky about my superiority for a whole weekend at a time of your choosing.”

“You’re not superior, though.”

Vox rolled his eyes. 

“Look, do you want me to hold on or not?” 

“Do you want me to bully you around and prove how you’re inferior to me?” Alastor retaliated, even as he hesitantly loosened his grip on Vox's forearms. Now it was Vox’s turn to blush, but he played it cool with a little scoff. 

“As if you could.”

They glared at each other for a moment before Alastor let go of Vox’s sleeves. Very slowly, and very hesitantly, until they were only connected by Vox’s fingertips on Alastor’s hands. 

“Okay?” Vox asked, looking at Alastor.

He took a shuddering breath but nodded all the same, and Vox was filled with a bizarre kind of glee. Seeing The Radio Demon scared was a sight reserved for... hell, he couldn’t think of anyone who had seen Alastor nervous, let alone scared. Well, seen and lived to tell the tale. 

“Okay.”

Vox skated back a few feet, but remained within grabbing distance. Just in case.

Alastor’s knees wobbled, and he flailed wildly with his arms. Vox instinctively reached for him, but he managed to stand upright. Mostly. Well, somewhat. And, when Alastor got his knees under control, and the arm-flailing stopped, and he stood there, completely still, without help, Vox grinned widely at him. Alastor’s eyes were closed tightly. 

“See? I told you you could do it!” 

Alastor opened his eyes and looked around, then at Vox. His heart swelled with the thrilled surprise in his gaze. For just a moment, in this precise moment, Vox could feel his own childlike excitement at doing something all by himself when he had been but a kid. 

“You’re doing great, Al,” he said. Then he gestured to himself, waving a hand. “Now, come on, come to me.”

“Not happening,” Alastor said immediately. “I can’t move ever again.”

“Yes, you can, and yes, you will.”

Alastor shook his head so hard it threatened to disrupt his balance. Vox observed him for a long moment. 

“Alright,” he then said and skated back to Alastor who immediately reached out and clung to him. It was a highly unusual feeling. “It’s okay. I’m still really proud of you, Al.”

“Don’t say that,” Alastor mumbled, ducking his head. Vox stroked a few claws through his hair, carefully avoiding his antlers. They were always very sensitive, and he didn’t want to set off Alastor in any way right now. Maybe later, though...

Alastor instantly relaxed against him, even more so when Vox began petting his hair in earnest. 

“You did do well, Alastor. I’m not patronizing you or anything. I really am proud of you for the progress you’ve made today.” 

Alastor scoffed softly, but didn’t argue any further, so neither did Vox. 

They stood like that until Vox started getting chilly. Then he withdrew his hand, gently cupping Alastor’s cheek. 

“I’m cold,” he said, “do you want to go home?”

“Please,” Alastor mumbled, but didn’t let go. Vox smiled softly. 

“Give me a kiss, and then I’ll get us back.”

Alastor gave a quiet scoff, but nonetheless lifted his head. 

They exchanged a quick, yet surprisingly tender kiss, and as promised, Vox led them both back to the bench. They engaged in a bit of small-talk while they removed their skates and put on their own shoes. 

“Al.”

“Hmm?” Alastor hummed as he grabbed his microphone stand. 

Vox wanted to ask if he had overstepped any boundaries today, but he didn’t want to seem overly concerned. That would ruin his image. Thus, he instead grabbed Alastor’s scarf and hauled him in for another kiss, this one much more like the ones he was used to receiving from Valentino; deep and passionate, verging on being obscene. 

Alastor didn’t do or say anything. He just sat there, rigid. 

When Vox pulled back, he pulled Alastor’s hat onto his head and down over his eyes, laughing as The Radio Demon yelped and grumbled. 

“I love you, Al.”

Alastor snickered as he got his hat - and hair - under control. 

“A terrible decision, really.”

“I know,” Vox grinned as they laced their fingers together and started the walk back home.

[cuddlepilefics]

Fallen through the ice @fluff-cember

@hurtcember alt2 help me

@whumpcember : 9 shaking, 27 hypothermia

@amonthofwhump falling through ice

Fandom: BTS

Sickie: Jimin

Caregivers: BTS

No one’s POV.:

With their individual military services, it had been a while since the group had last gotten together but with the holidays approaching and many of them being off, they had long since made plans. Although they’d spend the holidays with their respective families, they had rented a cottage for a week as a winter getaway for the group before Christmas. The area was quite rural, so they hoped they’d be able to enjoy some privacy. Namjoon was excited for the forest behind the cottage, planning to hike there everyday because the weather forecast had predicted snow and he loved the way it crunched under his shoes. Jungkook was mainly excited for the lake close by, hoping it’d freeze over enough for them to ice skate. So far, he only knew artificial ice rinks but skating on a lake had always been a fancy idea of his, though he knew it was probably just his imagination romanticizing it.

Jin had already laid out meal plans for the time they were there, wanting to prepare some seasonal dishes for his dongsaengs. He had missed them dearly and feeding the people he cared about had always been his love language, so he looked forward to it a lot. Hoseok and Taehyung were mainly glad to reunite with their friends that had become their brothers over the years and they were determined to drag Yoongi away from his work, meaning, confiscate his laptop upon arrival, so the older would be forced to take a break too. They knew he was determined to write some songs during their stay and had agreed that this was not the point of a getaway. Jimin similarly was mainly craving quality time with his friends and had packed both, hiking boots and ice skates, so he’d be able to go along with Namjoon and Jungkook. He had also borrowed his grandmother’s recipe book, hoping Seokjin would agree to the two of them cooking something together.

Just like they had planned, Hoseok confiscated Yoongi’s laptop while Taehyung distracted him, so the elder was forced to help string up fairy lights and set up candles. Once they had unpacked and decorated, the members gathered around the dining table to discuss their plans for the upcoming week in detail. Tomorrow, they'd go check if the lake was frozen over, so they could ice skate. Today though, there was still some time left and they wanted to make the most of the remaining day. Not even Namjoon had the energy for one of the long hikes he had planned but his friends agreed to join him on a shorter walk around the area. The only one staying behind was Seokjin, wanting to have dinner ready by the time the others returned because he deemed a hot meal the best way to warm up after being out in the snow.

"You're not catching a cold now, are you Jiminie?", Yoongi frowned and handed the younger a tissue. Jimin had been sniffling into his scarf for the past ten minutes and his nose was starting to turn pink. Gratefully accepting the tissue, Jimin blew his nose and dabbed at his eyes because they had started to water from the cold wind. Pulling his damp scarf up further, Jimin hummed: "No, hyung. It's just windy and making my nose run." - "If anyone feels too cold, please speak up and we'll turn around", Namjoon joined their conversation, "No need to risk anyone falling ill on the first day of vacation."

Taehyung was kind enough to keep Jimin's secret for the time being as to not dampen Jungkook's excitement. He did make sure he was dressed warmly and had enough tissues with him though. Seokjin had shortly decided to accompany them to the lake, still unconvinced the ice would actually be thick enough.

By the time they got back to the cottage, Jimin could barely see from how badly his eyes were watering and Jungkook teased: "Don't you dare get sick. You promised we'd go ice skating." - "I don't think Jin-hyung will allow you to enter the kitchen if you have a cold", Hoseok commented, slightly more serious, "You know, contagion and stuff." The younger rolled his eyes at that. It was true, if he gell ill, he'd be sidelined from all the plans he had had. Luckily, he wasn't coming down with a cold but of course, his friends would tease him for his sensative nose. "Aigoo, come inside quickly", Seokjin giggled when his shivery dongsaengs shuffled back into the cottage, "Let's get you warmed up, the stew's ready."

Jimin wasn't so sure that his nose had only been sensitive during their walk when he woke up with a faint ache in his throat. Though he felt a little sluggish, he wouldn't stay in bed any longer, remembering the plans he had made with Jungkook. Surprisingly, Taehyung was already awake and only needed one look at Jimin to click his tongue: "And...doom doom doom... you caught a cold. On vacation. Congrats." - "Is it that obvious?", the other rasped as he ran the back of hand under his nose. Taehyung shook his head, reassuring: "I just know you too well. Don't worry. Let me make some tea. Are you well enough to go out with Kookie?" Nodding, Jimin pouted: "I'm barely unwell just sniffly but yeah, tea sounds nice."

To Jungkook's delight, the ice was thick enough to carry him and he soon glided across the lake. He was a little disappointed that the surface wasn't as smooth as he had expected it to be, making it tricky to keep his balance. Jimin soon followed but Seokjin remained on land, not really trusting the ice. The eldest gladly took pictures of them though. Having the camera focused on their maknae for the moment, Jin startled when he heard a thid followed by a crack. When he looked up to check on Jimin, the younger was nowhere to be seen.

Where Jimin had previously skated, a large hole now gaped in the ice. While it may have been thick enough for them to skate on, the impact of his fall had caused it to crack. After a seemingly endless moment, Jimin's head finally resurfaced over the ice follwed by a string of curses, forced out between chattering teeth. Jungkook couldn't even skate over to the older to help him out of the freezing cold water without risking falling through the ice too. "Try to get on your tummy and slide across the ice horizontally", Seokjin yelled, heart racing as he watched his dongsaeng struggle to get out of the water, the ice frequently breaking when he tried to push himself up.

Jimin felt paralyzed with cold, his muscles barely complying, body going stiff. Pushed on by adrenaline and the shock of suddenly being submerged, Jimin gritted his teeth and managed to slide himself back onto the frozen surface before carefully crawling away, afraid the ice might break again. As soon as he had gotten some distance between himself and the hole in the ice, he shakily got to his feet and hurried to skate back to Seokjin, eager to get off the ice. Helping him off the ice, the eldest winced: "Are you okay? Did you get hurt?" - "J-J-us' c-co-cold-d", Jimin forced out, shaking too badly to unlace his wet skates, "He-el-p m-me."

By the time Seokjin had removed Jimin's skates and coat, bundling his dongsaeng into his own dry one, Jungkook had gotten off the ice too. With how heavy Jimin's coat had gotten upon soaking up water, it was a miracle that he had managed to get out of the water but it seemed to have taken a lot out of him. He was barely able to coordinate his limbs and needed both of his friends to speedwalk him back to the cottage. Worried about hypothermia, Seokjin pulled Jimin straight to the bathroom and told him to strip his wet clothes. "We can't warm you up too quickly, so I'll bring dry clothes and a few blankets", the eldest informed, "Taehyung-ah's already stoking the fire. You'll sit on the couch and warm up, Yoongi will bring you some hot tea in a moment."

Yoongi stirred a heaping spoon of honey into Jimin's tea and placed the cup onto the coffee table before turning the kettle on again to fill a hot water bottle. Jimin's skin stung as he changed his clothes, fingers numb and clumsy. It had zapped all of his energy to get changed, so when he was done, he looked at Seokjin and whimpered: "Help me, please." Without hesitation, the eldest scooped him into his arms and carried him to the couch, where Taehyung draped blankets over his shivering form. "Can you free one arm?", Taehyung hummed, helping to adjust the blankets, so Jimin could drink his tea. When he was certain none of the others could hear him, Taehyung whispered: "That was just what you needed for your cold, huh?"

Taehyung's comment was enough for Jimin to break down. He had so been looking forward to this vacation, how could he let himself get sick so early on? Within only two hours, his temperature went from low to high and despite his complaints about the chills, Jin took away his hot water bottle and all blankets except one, which he tightly tucked up to his chin. Taking pity on the younger, Hoseok sat down with him and let him curl up in his lap while he rubbed his arms for warmth. At the back of his mind, he knew he would most likely catch Jimin's cold if they cuddled but weren't they all doomed to catch it anyway?

"Do you want more tea?", Jungkook offered. He too had warmed up in front of the fireplace but felt guilty for dragging his friend out to the lake. If he hadn't been so insistent on wanting to slate on a lake, Jimin wouldn't be so miserable now. Shaking his head, Jimin breathed: "Throat too sore to swallow." - "Oh", the maknae frowned, getting to his feet, "Gimme a second." When he returned, he dropped a bag of cherry-flavored lozenges onto the coffee table and opened one, holding it to his hyung's lips, so he didn't have to free his arms from his blanket cocoon again.

Sleepily sucking on the lozenge, Jimin pouted. They had had many points on their vacation bucket list but falling through the ice hadn't been one of them.

[rowdyhughesy]

The story of us - Cole Caufield

“ I knew the second I met you that there was something about you I needed. Turns out it wasn’t something about you at all. It was just you “

- anon

word count: 1.7K

I. The day you met

It's been months since you first got to UW, yet this is the first hockey game you've ever attended. You liked hockey but had decided at the beginning of the semester that you were going to focus on school -parties if you felt like it-  it had taken some convincing from your roommates but ultimately you had agreed.

Dressed in a Wisconsin sweater and hat to keep warm you trail along behind your friends. Their loud chatter disguising the sound of skates and sticks on ice, the cold air of the rink biting at your cheeks.

"Y/N come on our seats are over here." One of your friends grabs your hand tugging you forward as if you're in a rush when in reality warmups aren't even over yet.

Seated closest to ice in the student section you just take in the atmosphere. Pucks slamming against the boards, players dressed in cardinal red and white flying across the ice. Engrossed in a conversation with your best friend you don't even realise the boy that comes skating across the ice until his firm body hits the boards. The loud noise startling you. Looking over your shoulder you're met with big blue eyes staring back at you behind the cage of his helmet.

His eyes squinting from the smile forming on his lips as he gives you a wave. Cheeks flushed from the attention you stare at the boy with wide eyes before pointing a finger towards yourself as if asking him 'me?' The unknown boy laughs softly before nodding in confirmation. Sneaking a glance at your friends to see them focused on something else you raise from your seat.

Walking over to him you fiddle with the sleeves of your sweater over your hands, a nervous habit you've had since you were a kid.

"Hey, I'm Cole."

II. The first kiss

Your plan to focus on school had went out the window after you met Cole Caufield for the first time. Suddenly the lonely evenings in your bedroom became study dates or movie nights every Sunday he didn't have hockey.

He was your best friend but his smile still made you blush like it did the first time he directed it towards you. It was easy to let go off all your worries in his presence. Cole was easy going, never letting anything bother him for more than two minutes. It was something you admired about him, one of many things in fact.

Laying in the space between Cole's legs, back pressed to his chest you watch the tv series he'd picked out for tonight. Blanket draped across your lap and soft glow from the TV illuminating your faces. It's currently 1:30am but neither of you feel the need to wrap this Sundays movie night up just yet. Way too comfortable in each others embrace.

Cole shuffles in his seat, arms wrapping tighter around you, pulling you closer to his chest. You can feel his heartbeat. Thu-thump Thu-thump. You’re pulled out of your daze like state when you feel Cole’s nose nudge against your temple. Turning your head slightly you get eye contact, noses bumping together from your close proximity. His blue eyes look like they’re sparkling more than usual in the artificial light from the screen. Cole parts his lips, a silent question if he can kiss you hanging in the air around you. Deciding to throw caution to the wind you lean forward.

It’s slow open mouthed kisses and breaths mingling together. Smiles so big your teeth almost clash when you turn your body around so you’re chest to chest. Tangling your fingers in his hair and Cole grasping your cheek in his big palm. The soft fabric of his sweatshirt and the smell of his cologne. The taste of your chapstick on his lips lingering as you pull apart for air.

“I was wondering when you were gonna do that.”

III. The first I love you

It’s a tough loss in tonight’s hockey game. You can see it on Cole’s face as the final buzzer rings, the look of defeat and disappointment clear. Anyone else wouldn’t have picked up on it but you can read your boyfriend even when he tries to mask his emotions.

Grabbing your belongings you push your way through the crowd trying to get out of the stands. Mind spiralling with scenarios of how Cole’s going to act when you see him. All you can do is hope he won’t try to shut you out.

Rushing out a hello to the security guard you stand in the tunnel, picking at your sleeves while you wait for Cole to come out. The minutes feel like hours before the locker room door opens. Waving to his teammates as they file out one after the other. Counting in your head you come to the conclusion Cole is the only one left. Looking to see if the coast is clear you walk inside.

Your boyfriend is sitting in his stall, hunched over with his head resting in his hands. Hair still damp from the shower. Taking note of the jersey and helmet thrown across the room you know he’s in a bad mood. Cautious you step forward before you come to a halt in front of his sitting form. He doesn’t acknowledge your presence until you slowly peel his hands away from his head. Wrapping his arms around your legs he rests his hands on the back of your thighs, forehead resting against your stomach.

“Tell me what’s going on inside that brain of yours.” Cole exhales a shaky breath, grabbing your legs tighter in his palms.

“I could’ve done better, I let everyone down Y/N. I had so many goal chances that I screwed up.” His voice cracks and your heart along with it. Stepping out of his hold you squat so you come face to face with the hockey player.

“Don’t ever say that Cole Caufield. This is not on you, it’s a team sport. You did everything you could tonight and sure it didn’t play out the way you wanted but don’t ever doubt what you can do. Me along with so many others know how good of a hockey player you are. Fuck you’re going to the NHL soon and if that doesn’t tell you how good you really are I don’t know what does. It’s only one game, you can’t win them all but you can chose to learn from it.”

Cole leans his forehead against yours, a couple of happy tears slips out as he blinks. “I love you so much baby, thank you for always knowing what to say.” Now it’s your turn to start crying. Crying because it’s the first time either of you have said those words aloud and you can’t picture a more perfect moment even if it’s the result of something sad.

“I love you too Cols.”

IV. NHL debut

It feels like a fever dream standing inside the Bell centre. A Montreal Canadians jersey on your upper body and a smile so big your cheeks hurt. After a rocky start the day has finally came for Cole to take his first steps on the ice as an NHL player. Standing beside his family in the stands you grip his mothers hand in a death grip as they announce that Cole is about to make his rookie lap. Your heart feels like it might leap out of your chest as he comes flying out on the ice.

He sports probably the biggest smile you’ve ever seen on his face and you don’t even realise that you have started crying. Paul Caufield wraps one of his arms around your shoulders and squeeze you in a side hug as all of you watch Cole skate around with proud smiles.

As he skates by where you’re standing you raise your arms up and start hollering. Shouts of his name and whistling. Cole comes to a stop in front of you blowing a kiss as you mouth out an I love you which he responds with an I love you more.

You know he’s going to become something great in the hockey world and you’re so unbelievably proud that the whole universe is about to see it as well.

Smiling at his parents when he skates back to the tunnel you wipe the stray tear from your cheek.

“I’m so proud of him.”

V. The first apartment

You can feel the sweat dripping down your neck as you drop the last box on the floor. Ripping the thick sweater off your body you plop down on the nearest piece of furniture which happens to be the couch. Cole following shortly after. Both of you letting out a sigh of relief that the last moving boxes and furniture are inside.

If anyone had told you at eighteen that you would be moving into an apartment in Montreal with your boyfriend it would’ve felt so far away but it’s not. Not anymore. It’s actually happening.

Looking around you, you take in the high ceiling windows, dark wooden floors and light coloured walls and it’s unbelievable that this is your home. You and Cole’s home. As if sensing that you’re having a moment Cole intertwines your fingers giving your hand a small squeeze.

Looking over at him you see a goofy smile on his lips that match your own.

“This is real right? I’m not just hallucinating?” Cole barks out a laugh at your question before lifting you up and onto his lap. Resting his chin on your shoulder after pecking the skin behind your ear.

“As real as it can be babe, this is all ours.”

Later that night as you lay close together on your makeshift bed -a mattress on the floor- you run your fingertips on his chest. Eyes heavy with exhaustion from today you feel sleep sneaking up on you. Trying to blink sleep away for only a minute longer so you can relish in the moment that is the first night in your new home.

Cole is softly snoring beside you, having fallen asleep thirty minutes ago while you whispered about tomorrows plans of assembling furniture. There’s been so many huge milestones in your relationship with Cole. But this, moving in together and starting the rest of your lives beats them all by a landslide.

“Welcome home Cols.”

[thisapplepielife]

Written for the @steddiemas challenge.

Let the Boy Be Merry

Prompt Day 5: Grinch vs. Holiday Cheer | Word Count: 3333 | Rating: M | CW: Language, Brief Talk of Kids (They Didn't Have) | Tags: Future Fic, Long-Term Relationship, Middle-Age Steddie, Christmas, He's a Grinch, But His Heart Grew Three Sizes That Day, Eddie POV

This one is also available right here on AO3.

"This is ridiculous!" Eddie screams as loud as he can, from the bottom of the ladder. Which is pretty loud. Eddie's not exactly known for his timid demeanor. Especially when he's offended, and this really offends him.

"Yes, Eddie, I heard you the first hundred times!" Steve screams back, from the top of the ladder. Stapling another string of lights to the house. 

He's been doing it for hours. Literal hours. It's cold, snow on the ground, and Eddie is fucking tired of holding the ladder, his fingers are frozen, even in his gloves. But he can't just walk off and let Steve fall to his death. 

"That's enough! You're gonna kill the power to the whole neighborhood!" Eddie yells, trying anything to get him off that fucking ladder.

Steve scoffs. Eddie hears him, even from all the way up there. 

"I'm not Clark Griswold!" Steve shouts back.

Eddie sighs. No, he's not. But that's what they are obviously using as an inspiration for this amount of lights. It's too much. A monstrosity, and they'll never be able to afford the electricity bill. They've been together for years, decades, and Steve still struggles with the idea that they have a budget. 

It drives Eddie insane. 

And about these lights? Eddie's done the math. This is going to cost thousands of dollars to run all month. Thousands of dollars. 

For Christmas lights.

Eddie doesn't approve of this, not at all. He's called Wayne to complain, several times, and Wayne just grunts, not as affronted as Eddie thought he'd be. Wayne understands not wasting electricity, he's the one that followed Eddie around the trailer turning off lights, even ones Eddie was sometimes still using.

"I hear you, Scrooge," Wayne had finally said, "but, can you afford it?"

Eddie had sighed, and muttered a begrudgingly quiet, "Yes."

"Then let the boy be merry," Wayne had drawled, and Eddie had wanted to pull his hair out. He could look even more like Wayne, if he did.

There's being merry, and there's…whatever Steve is, right now.

Eddie doesn't even like Christmas, so this is a hard time of the year in their house. Steve is always acting like they are in the middle of Rockefeller Center, all giant Christmas trees and ice skating rinks. And then there's Eddie, just sitting idly by, wishing for January. 

He doesn't want to drag a real tree into the house. They're a fire hazard. And Eddie doesn't want to traipse out to the tree farm, cut a damn tree down, and pick up pine needles for a month. No thanks.

So, Steve finally relented, and bought an artificial one. And then Eddie saw how much that motherfucker cost, and nearly had a goddamn stroke. It's a plastic tree. It should have been twenty dollars. 

He leans his forehead against the cold metal rung of the ladder.

He's trying. It's just hard. He does the bills. He's going to be the one that has to look at those insane numbers on the electricity bill next month just for running Christmas lights that they can't even see from inside the house, and cut a check. 

"Hey, Grinch ass, I need more staples!" Steve yells, and Eddie grumbles, but passes him up another box from the step. Steve puts them in the front pocket of his gray hooded sweatshirt after he's reloaded the staple gun.

"Hate, hate, hate. Double hate. LOATHE ENTIRELY!" Eddie shouts, quoting The Grinch back at him. If Steve wants to call him The Grinch, Eddie'll be the fucking Grinch. 

Steve's almost forty, and he's on a ladder like he's twenty. It's stupid. He's going to get hurt. 

And, do you know how much a trip to the ER costs? Eddie's pretty certain Steve doesn't.

"You're too old to be up on that ladder!" Eddie yells up at him, and Steve laughs. He laughs so hard he has to hold onto the ladder so he doesn't actually fall off of it.

"How old do you think I am, dickhead?" Steve finally asks, "I'm thirty-nine. Not ninety-three, last I checked. I can still climb a ladder."

And he can. Eddie knows that. Steve's still in shape. Still active. Steve goes to the high school gym here in town almost every weekend and plays in the old timers basketball league with other men his age, or even older. Some of them are much, much older and still running up and down the court. So, Eddie knows forty isn't old. Eddie's forty, and he can still climb a ladder. Well, he could if wanted to. He definitely doesn't want to. 

"You're in the senior basketball league!" Eddie yells back, just poking at him a little bit more, just because he can.

"You got me there," Steve just says, smiling. "Give me another string of lights. If you're not too old to bend over. You're older than me, in case you've forgotten."

Eddie grumbles, he hasn't forgotten, and hands Steve another strand of lights.

So, the lights go up, one strand at a time. With Steve getting down and moving the ladder as he needs to, and then all the other decorations go out with them. It's a nightmare. He had to watch Steve and Robin make decorations for weeks. Carrying in sack after sack from the craft store. 

They made giant lollipops to line the sidewalk out of foam discs that they covered in colorful cellophane. They look good, even Eddie can see that, but they were a waste of time and money, he's pretty certain.

And they're putting holes in the lawn.

Eddie tried to put his foot down when they came rolling old, used tires up towards the garage. They didn't listen to him, they never do, and he had to watch as they spray painted them green, and stacked them up in tiers until they had fake Christmas trees. 

What sucks, is Eddie just knows he's going to be the one trying to dispose of the tires after Christmas is over. 

It's overkill, all of it.

And now, with the lights, Eddie just has to act complacent as he's basically hearing the electric meter whirring 'round and 'round, spinning like a faulty compass, all month long. 

It's torture. Pure torture.

Christmas morning is the usual tug-of-war. Steve wants to get up at six, and Eddie wants to sleep in. They don't have kids. There's no godforsaken reason for them to get up before dawn. They don't even exchange gifts. That stopped long ago, after Steve slowly realized Eddie is bad at receiving gifts, and even worse at giving them. 

So, they've opted out. 

Robin always brings Steve something perfect that Eddie could never compete with, anyway. 

But Steve likes a big breakfast on Christmas morning, always has. It's too much food. He always tries to get Steve to cut back, but Steve doesn't listen. Steve always makes the full spread, and eventually Eddie will roll out of bed, getting a cup of coffee and eating a huge plate of food that Steve's made. Pancakes, eggs, toast, bacon, sausage, ham steak, biscuits and gravy, hash browns, all of it. It's good. It's always good.

Just too much food, more than they can eat.

Eddie's still shoveling it into his mouth when Steve pushes a box towards him.

"What's this? We don't do gifts," Eddie says around a mouthful of hashbrowns, slathered in ketchup.

"You don't do gifts," Steve corrects with a smile. "I do gifts just fine."

Steve's teasing, and Eddie softens, just a little. He's been a dickhead, all month. He's not sure why Steve puts up with him at all. They are polar opposites, sometimes. Eddie, still loud and brash, and a little rude, and those are all things Steve Harrington outgrew as a teenager.  

He's kind, and thoughtful. And yes, he's fucking merry.

"I don't have anything for you," Eddie says, and he's embarrassed for the first time in a long time. Ashamed.

"I know you don't," Steve says. "I want you to have this anyway."

Eddie nods as he pulls the corner of the tape loose, and slides his thumb under it. It's a small kraft paper box, and Eddie pops off the lid, not sure what to expect. 

A thick, silver band wasn't something that had crossed his mind.

He looks up, finding Steve's eyes, a question on the tip of his tongue.

And Steve grins, but he looks a little uneasy, finally saying, "If you wanna marry me, we could do that, now."

Wayne was right. Eddie's been a Scrooge. A dickhead, a fucking Grinch, all month, no, for years, and for some reason Steve still wants to marry him. He will never understand why, but you can't explain love, he supposes. 

He just looks at the ring, a little stunned.

"I know you've always said," Steve continues quietly, looking down at the table, just for a second, before he looks back at Eddie, "that it didn't matter. So, I know none of this matters to you. Christmas. Marriage. All the unnecessary stuff. The things that cost good money for no good reason. I know that. But if you want to, I want to."

And Steve's chin quivers, just a little, the only thing giving him away before the first tears fill his eyes, and then fall. It's comical, that first tear. It's big, and is immediately chased by a few others. Hitting Steve's chin, and then his shirt. If it wasn't so fucking sad, it'd be funny.

"Steve, Jesus H. Christ," Eddie says, "of course I want to marry you. Yes," he says, picking the ring up out of the box and sliding it on his finger. It fits, but he knew it would. Because Steve doesn't get these things wrong. Not ever. 

They've been together for years, nearly twenty of them, and somehow Steve is still unsure that Eddie's all in? That he might not want to marry him? That can't be possible. No, way. Eddie doesn't need to get married. Just like he doesn't need a whole month of Christmas, or to go to Pride, or celebrate Valentine's Day. He isn't built that way. As Wayne would say, it isn't in his nature.

But somehow, somewhere along the way, he decided that what he thought was more important than the fact that all those things are important to Steve. 

It stuns him, suddenly. That this is still the case. He thought he'd grown up into a responsible adult. But, in some ways, he must still be that high school kid that was too good to go watch his friend play basketball. The one that'd rather Lucas just miss out on the end of the Hellfire campaign, than move it back a day or two.

Eddie scrubs his hand over his face.

He's really fucked this up, he realizes. For a long, long time. He'll do better, he will. 

Eddie gets out of his chair, squatting next to Steve's chair and both of his knees pop and crack. It's funny, Steve laughs, and Eddie does, too. 

"Don't say a word," Eddie warns, teasing him. It's clearly his karma for saying Steve was old when they were hanging lights. Now, his goddamn body has betrayed him. He had it coming, he's pretty sure.

He puts his hands on Steve's thighs, squeezing.

"I want to marry you. Of course, I do. I'm sorry if you thought that maybe I didn't," Eddie says, and he is sorry. So sorry. "I love you. So much. More than anything."

Steve smiles, gripping both his shoulders, "I wasn't questioning if you love me, Eddie. I know you love me. I was just unsure about the marriage part. I promise."

"I definitely want to marry you," Eddie says, and he means that. No, he wouldn't have thought about it on his own, probably, because he already feels married to Steve. He didn't need the damn government to finally catch up to make that true. But, yes, of course he wants to marry Steve, legally. He wants to be with him for twenty more years, and after that, forever.

As long as they've got.

"We can do something small. At the courthouse. In and out. Twenty minutes and twenty dollars," Steve promises.

Eddie shakes his head, he's not going to micromanage the cost of this thing Steve wants to do. Not this time, "We'll have the wedding you want, sweetheart. Even if it costs fifty dollars."

He's teasing, and Steve knows that, and Steve laughs as he's leaning down to kiss him. Eddie leans up to meet him, halfway this time. He's going to do that more often, try to meet him in the middle.

Later in the day, Steve is standing by the coat rack, and he says, "I'm gonna take the lights down, before it gets dark."

It's not an unusual statement. It's the compromise they've made over the years. The lights can go up, but as soon as Christmas morning is over, they gotta come down. It's ridiculous, and Eddie feels ashamed. What's a few more days? Honestly.

Eddie shakes his head, "No. Let's leave them up until after the new year."

And Steve smiles, big and bright.

That night, they stand on the curb, bundled up, watching the lights twinkle. Eddie can see the tree in the front window, and it's beautiful, too. Full, and decorated. Not like the sad, little tree he grew up with. It was probably worth the money Steve spent on it, he realizes. It looks real, especially from here.

And he's walked past it a thousand times in the house, never even really looking at it. Not seeing it. Not experiencing this beautiful thing Steve put in their house.

Steve has put a lot of beauty in Eddie's world, and Eddie regrets that he didn't take the time to notice it.

Back inside, Steve brings him a mug of hot chocolate, and it's in the silly Christmas Vacation moose mugs Steve bought a couple years ago, the ones that Eddie didn't think they needed. They have plenty of mugs, but these made Steve smile, so they bought them even after Eddie's protests. Tonight, he takes a hold of the antlers, with thanks.

They make him smile now, too. Because Steve is smiling.

That night, Eddie lays in bed, taking inventory of all the things he's given Steve grief about over the last twenty years. It's a long list, he realizes. Sure, Steve holds his own. Doesn't let Eddie steamroll him, not easily, not at all. Steve hasn't been cowed, Eddie is sure of that. Steve just decided to pick his battles, and has let the rest just roll off his back. 

No Christmas presents? Sure, that's fine. No birthday cake unless he buys his own? That's fine, too. Steve always says he'll know best what kind of cake he's hungry for this year, anyway.

When Steve wanted another BMW, and Eddie said they couldn't afford one, Steve picked something else. Something cheaper. When the oven broke, Steve said he wanted double ovens, wanted the extra space, for when they had friends over. 

Eddie was on board until he saw the price of them, and then he balked. Not to mention the cost of having them installed, and Steve didn't press the issue. He just picked a new middle of the road, single oven, and went on with life. 

They could, though. They could have afforded it. The ovens, for sure. And probably even the BMW with a little creativity. Eddie's made sure they have money squirreled away. It's a response to his childhood, and he knows that. Steve never wanted for anything, and there were times, before Wayne, that Eddie wanted for everything.

Steve never seems to get his feathers ruffled by any of these slights, so Eddie has just kept running their finances exactly how he prefers. 

But they can't take it with them, and they don't have kids. 

And that suddenly knocks the wind out of Eddie.

Years ago, Steve floated the idea of a kid, of adopting, and Eddie hadn't entertained it as a real suggestion. They didn't need a kid. Couldn't afford one, anyway, and they were good, just the two of them.

He reaches over and shakes Steve awake.

Steve looks at him, half-asleep, "What? What's wrong?"

"Do you want to have a baby?" Eddie asks, slightly unhinged.

"No," Steve says, like Eddie's an idiot, "but we could practice trying to make one, if you want," Steve adds, reaching out, and patting Eddie on the thigh. 

It makes Eddie laugh. 

"Yeah, some practice sounds good," Eddie says.

And Steve rolls over on top of him, and Eddie forgets, just for a second, why he was worried in the first place. They're happy. He knows that, believes it. Even if they aren't always on exactly the same page.

Eddie will try to be on the same page more often. Even if it's in a book that he's unfamiliar with.

He's pretty sure Steve's too sleepy to follow through, but it's nice to feel the familiar weight of him covering his body, and Eddie just rubs Steve's bare back in soft, delicate strokes until Steve has fallen back asleep.

And Eddie is a man of his word, even if the only person he promised change to was himself. So, he does try. When Valentine's Day rolls around, Eddie brings home roses. And chocolates. And a teddy bear. It's a little bit much, but Steve laughs, and accepts it all. Giving Eddie a kiss, and nothing else, and that's more than fine with Eddie.

He's the one in the hole, here. The ledger is majorly off-balance, and that just won't do. He needs to settle up his debts.

For Pride, Eddie puts on rainbow-colored clothing of Robin's choosing, and follows Steve and Robin to the parade. He walks right beside them, his head held high. Happy, because they're happy.

When Steve comes home on his birthday, the living room is filled with black helium balloons, because while Eddie might be getting on board, it's still Steve's fortieth, and he's not about to miss this opportunity. No way in hell. There's a cake on the counter, shaped like a headstone. Eddie ordered it weeks ago. From an actual bakery, and paid for it, without complaining about the cost. Well, at least not out loud. He's complained in his head aplenty.

Steve has a grocery store cake in his hands. He hasn't realized yet that that's not gonna be necessary anymore. That's okay, Eddie will keep this up until Steve forgets there was ever a time he was responsible for buying his own birthday cake.

And when Christmas rolls around again, Eddie is up on a second ladder, hanging lights next to his husband. He's pretty sure they'll put up more than last year. He helped draft the design, drawing it on a piece of printer paper, in full color.

Steve framed it. Like it was art. Like it was important.

Maybe it is. 

Eddie's done trying to tell Steve what's important. He's going to let Steve tell him for a while.

Eddie gets down to get another string of lights, and he did replace the old incandescent C9's with LED Christmas lights, in the same style. Because they use eighty percent less electricity, which is exactly what Eddie, the old Grinch that he is, likes to hear.

Just because his heart grew three sizes that day, doesn't mean he's stopped looking at the electricity bill. He's not crazy.

Sure, the new lights cost more up front, but he's learned his lesson, and just opened his wallet and pulled out his credit card, keeping his mouth shut. They'll save money in the long run, and they'll make Steve happy. That's a win-win.

And really, that's all Eddie's ever wanted. To make Steve happy. He just got a little lost along the way.

Money is important, sure.

But Steve, definitely, means a little bit more.

Notes: I cried while writing this. I cried a little more while editing this. I don't know. Don't look at me like that. It is what it is, and sometimes life pairs you up with someone that doesn't exactly speak your love language. And you still love them anyway.

Several people have done the math on Clark Griswold's lights, and while none of them have the same end figure, it seems, at a minimum, he spent about $3700 to run his lights during the month of December.

And does that header image not look like it could actually be an older Steve Harrington, or what? I don't know if it's the jeans, or the watch, but as soon as I saw it, I was like, yep, that's the one for this day. (Credit: It's an Adobe stock image.)

If you want to write your own, or see more entries for this challenge, pop on over to @steddiemas and follow along! 🎄

[moonlight-if-knight]

Do any of the ROs like ice-skating? And would they ice-skate together with the MC, holding hands and spinning around together and all that?

All of the ROs would be happy to ice-skate with MC... except Derek, Max, and Lorian/Locke.

Derek and Lorian/Locke have never ice-skated before. However, both can be very easily persuaded by an MC close to them. They will be a little clumsy at first and with slow steps, but they'll learn quickly :)

In Max's case, it depends on where they would ice-skate. If it's in an ice rink (an artificial one, as at present), he could be persuaded and ice-skate with MC, although nothing too risky. However, if it's in a frozen lake or something like that… nope. Not a chance. Not in a million years 😳

Alex, Jeremiah, Siliva, and ??? would very happily ice-skate with MC and do as many spinnings, jumps, and holding hands as MC wants :)

[icemagicsynthetic]

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With services like those offered by Synthetic Ice Rinks, hiring and setting up an artificial ice rink is hassle-free. The rinks are modular, allowing customization to fit your venue’s space, whether it’s a backyard, hall, or open park.

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Synthetic ice rinks are made from durable, high-quality materials designed to mimic real ice. They are safer for beginners as they have slightly more friction than traditional ice, reducing the chances of falls. Additionally, these rinks are eco-friendly, requiring no electricity or water for maintenance, unlike traditional ice surfaces.

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[rinksystems]

An Artificial Ice Rink With A Practice Goal From Rink Systems

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[seeyouonsaturn]

hehe more for Wildside and Wreck-Gar

❄️- How do you and your f/o react to the first snow of the season?

⛸️- Do you and/or your f/o like ice skating? Is one of you better than the other?

🧣- Would you get matching sweaters/pajamas?

Oh hell yeah bestie!! No thoughts now only Wildside and Wreck-Gar playing in the snow

❄️- How do you and your f/o react to the first snow of the season?

It's the first snow of their LIVES!! It's debatable whether or not they even knew what snow IS before it suddenly started coming down. To say they're excited like little kids would be an understatement.

They spend ALL DAY outside and it never gets boring! Do they know what snowmen are? They'll figure it out! Probably saw some kids making them and decided that looks FUN, let's do it too! Snowbots! A whole family! They each try to sculpt the other out of snow (turns out, Wreck-Gar has an artistic side, if you count various garbage accessories as snowbot-acceptable) (Wildside's attempt is downright terrible, it's hilarious). Thankfully, they don't feel the cold nearly as much as organics do, but they find some old fabrics in the trash to use as scarves just for the vibes. And then they build a huge snow fort that's really more of a hollowed-out snow heap reinforced with all sorts of garbage, but it holds, any it's awesome, and they're just going to live in there until it thaws again.

You know what Wildside's favorite discovery is though? Snowballs. It's like Christmas came early when she realizes she has been gifted unlimited ammo from the sky to chuck at people. The two of them absolutely have a huge snowball fight (Wreck-Gar is declared the winner, if only because his size enables him to just straight up gather a Wildside-sized heap of snow and bury her in it) but it doesn't end there. This winter, she follows her divine calling to become a menace to all of Detroit. Snowballs for everybody! Leave the house? SNOWBALL! Nobody is safe.

At some point she showed up at the Autobot base to get Bumblebee to come out and fight her, and it somehow ended up with the entirety of Team Prime in a vicious snowball war. They had more fun than they'll admit.

The only downside to the snow is that Wildside has tiny little wheels, and she can't drive in that damn stuff. But it's okay, she can piggyback around on Wreck-Gar. He doesn't mind. She weighs like maybe three grapes to him. Honestly, she already does that more than driving anyway.

⛸️- Do you and/or your f/o like ice skating? Is one of you better than the other?

Good question, mainly because I'm not quite sure any lake can hold their weight, especially Wreck-Gar's. Now as for an artificially made ice skating rink, that might work, but good luck getting the humans to agree to– nope, never mind, Wildside doesn't care about permission. Everyone get out of the way or get run over, it's time for Garbage On Ice. The humans can do nothing but stand by and watch as Wildside and Wreck-Gar take over the rink and try to copy what they've been seeing, completely ignoring the spectators.

She's... not exactly a picture of elegance, but what she's really here for is speed. After spending a bit struggling to find her footing on the ice, Wildside finds that she much prefers taking a running start and ZOOM across it as fast and far as she can get. No aim, no form, just a graffiti-covered little bullet about to land face-first in a snow heap for the gazillionth time. Definitely asks Wreck-Gar to launch her. He does so with delight.

Meanwhile he's surprisingly good at it once he gets the hang of it. Seriously, how is he doing that? Who taught him that? Was that a pirouette?? Don't ask what he used for the makeshift blades he's attached to his pedes, but they clearly do the job. Though he sprays a bunch of garbage in all directions every time he spins. He considers this a bonus. Like sparkles!

🧣- Would you get matching sweaters/pajamas?

Does it make sense for them to wear clothes? Not at all. Based on vibes though, WOULD THEY!

They'd be DELIGHTED at the prospect! I can't even tell you which one of them first brought them home, they probably just took one look at some picture of a family wearing matching sweaters printed on some wrapper someone threw out and instantly and simultaneously went YES. I don't know where they got them in their size and I don't care.

It's gotta be the most obnoxious ones too. You know these two are true ugly sweater enjoyers. And they HAVE to be matching, it's not even optional. They'll never take them off either. This is just what they look like now.

I need someone to make Wreck-Gar a giant sweater with a pouch in the front so Wildside can sit in there, wearing a small version of the same thing. Winter goals.

[mewintheflesh-2]

GB hosts a minecraft server for all the other Mikey’s to play on whenever they want. No creative, most exploits are banned. Has the mod where you get a players head if you kill them.

Mikey lives in a house in the sky OBVIOUSLY. Lots of parrots, ATLEAST 5 of each color. The server lags a lot when he makes them do their silly dances. Keeps a few phantoms as pets too. Has like 5 dragon eggs in his house and will go out of his way to bully any land or sea animal he sees by naming them dinnerbone. Has like 5 shulker boxes full of enchanted elytra. Is the main person everyone goes to when theirs breaks or they lose it after dying.

Nightsky ALSO lives in the sky, but he made a point to build his base higher up than Mikeys just because. and also lives nowhere near him. Refuses to speak with him and if they’re in room together they just keep punching eachother over and over again until someone just brings out their sword and kills the other. Then the other comes back, get their stuff, and the entire thing repeats. Nightsky has more kills on Mikey than Mikey does on him.

When nobody else is online, Fuse just gets on and does the weirdest shit to everyone’s bases. Puts villagers name tagged dinnerbone in peoples living rooms tied to the ceilings with chains. Red stone as blood across all the floors. Builds weird secret lab rooms in their homes. Kills all their villagers and steals their animals for himself.

Merryweather made his base in a cherry blossom biome, with a dark, Victorian aesthetic. Got GB to add in a gambling mod just cause.

Vamps made his home in a woodland mansion that was conveniently close to spawn. Killed everything inside and just took it over. He likes to fly around a lot at night. Almost uses as much elytra as Mikey does. Also has a hoard of bats he keeps as pets :) Got GB to add in a mod to add in a rare item in game that allows you to transform into a bat and fly around like a little freak.

McCoy has tried to blow up everyone (except Moro’s) bases with TNT. For some reason Marius’s and Fuse’s bases ended up with the most damages

Speaking of McCoy and Moro, they both live together!! They live in a winter spruce biome :) McCoy originally didn’t have a base, but Moro offered him to live in his house, and they’ve just lived together since. Their house is very cozy and winter themed. Moro even built an ice rink by their house just for funsies. GB ended up modding in hot chocolate literally just for them as a little gift.

Also speaking of Marius, he lives in the middle of the ocean. Made his own artificial island beach resort. Most of the others enjoy just popping in every once in a while, but McCoy and Moro avoid it like the plague. Which isn’t hard considering how far it is from spawn and their base.

Also speaking of Fuse’s house, It’s just a 50 chunk wide underground lab. Nothing too big :). Every weird thing you can do with mobs you can fucking think of. Somehow has an entire 15 shulker boxes full of bedrock, and 50 shulker boxes full of netherite blocks.

Keeps all his stolen animals in weird decrepit rooms with zombies and shit in them. If you want your animal back you’re going to have to let him kill you so he can put your head on his giant wall of everyone’s player heads. And also give him netherite. Has an entire shrine of himself as the centrepiece of the main lab room. If you go into the lab you’re going to have to die and lose your items to get out.

Had a weird hallway of armour stands that hold the armour and more heads of the people he’s killed. If you try to steal it back he will blow up your base and steal all your items.

Once he farmed for a whole bunch of charged creepers to the point where anytime anyone ever looked in the direction of the room housing them, their game would crash. He ended up releasing them out into the wild one day, and for the next month you could not go an hour without someone being killed by one. GB and Nightsky had to go out of their way to kill all of the ones they could find because they just got so fucking tired of dying to them. They ended up dying like 15 times in the process, 12 times for GB, 3 times for Nightsky.

Will hit anyone hes talking to with a sword atleast once in their conversation. It’s like a weird custom at this point except he gets very mad if you do it back. Will chase you down and kill you if you do.

Has a shulker box full of spawners for each type that can spawn in the wild. Will fill your house with cave-spider spawners if you make him mad enough.

There’s about 5 redstone masters on the server. Nightsky, Marvin, McCoy, Mellan, and Fuse.

I like to imagine GB’s just out trying to solve an anomaly that’s been plaguing many different universes and he just gets a text saying “Hey, Fuse is trying to kill all your animals.” And he’s just like “God fucking dammit not again.”

Moss, Mellan, and DL all live in the same house, but have here different houses they switch between living in periodically. Moss lives in your standard tall birch forest, lives next to a lush cave biome, Mellan lives on top of a mountain (he made his entire base into a fucking rave house), and DL lives in a dark oak/mushroom biome.

Moss is also one of the main farmers on the server. Has 50 shulker boxes full of golden carrots. And another 50 full of golden apples.

Mellan will always hide the weirdest shit in anyone’s bases that he visits. Not Fuse level weird but still weird nonetheless. Built a giant penis on top of Fuse’s lab just because.

Maharth “does not have time for minecraft” so he does not play on the server unfortunately and also fortunately for him

Mirri is a cosmic being and does not know how minecraft works. He tried to play once! But he broke the computer just with his mind after getting very frustrated with not understanding the game or technology. Whoopsie!! He ended up not coming back to earth for like a month after that because he felt bad about it. Also accidentally removed an entire 5 chunks of land in the process of breaking the computer. I think Mirri and GB are good friends :)

Marvin has a room in Fuse’s lab he can just come and crash in. Speaking of Marvin! His house is very redstone powered. Like, everything. Almost everything is automated, had farms for almost everything you can think of. You need any mob drops? He’s got you covered. Sugar cane? Sand? He’s got plenty! Life totems? Oh he has more than he knows what to do with.

Got GB to mod in trains into the game jsut so he could build a railway line to everyone’s bases (except for Mikey’s and Nightsky’s, kind of. The rail line just lead to a nearby spot to their bases.)

This has lead to all sorts of shenanigans as you might be able to tell with the nature of the rest of this post. The railways have been blown up like 70 times AT LEAST. Marvin kept having to fix them and he got very frustrated with everyone about it. GB ended up having to make them indestructible, but that didn’t stop people from just putting bedrock on top of them *coughcough*Fuchsia*coughcough*

Mrithun’s house!! Potion brewing lab. Whatever you need, he spot you, just give him some diamonds and you’re good to go. Has 5 shulker boxes full of each type of potion.

MANTIS!! He’s a bee farmer obviously. Has accidentally killed many people with his bees before. Prime person for any honey you might need. His bees keep accidentally ending up in everyone’s bases which is weird considering how far away some of them are from him. He swears he didn’t do it, and he didn’t, but like half the server thinks he did and he’s just fucking with them. Owns like 500 bees.

Once, all of his bees dissapeared. He asked around the server with no answer until he got to Fuse’s lab, which upon opening the door, he was swarmed by hundreds of bees. He put in chat “Found my bees.” And Fuse responded with just a smiley emoticon. It took him like a week to get them all back to his farm.

Magnus!! The one who defeated the ended dragon by himself when nobody else was online. Everyone was very upset to the point GB had to make sure that it respawned just so everyone who wanted to could have a chance to defeat it themselves. Among those, Nightsky and Mikey were not included. His house is very mystical, has a shit ton of amethyst block adorning the walls, floors, and ceilings all over his base. Also farms skulk and uses it in his house as well. Looks like a wizards house on the outside. A lot of purple and magenta stained glass and a lot of sea lanterns. Also!! A lot of items from the lush cave biomes.

[deathfavor]

@ashrifts said: 004. for izana! hope he has good balance

Christmas Scenery prompts 004. on an ice rink, careful to dodge the bustling crowd that stumble and rush past.

   It’s nearly the holidays, which means everywhere feels like a kicked anthill — swarms of people like angry ants flooding their surroundings. Some were out searching for last minute gifts, others were rushing for limited time events, dinner reservations, parties, or just taking in the holiday atmosphere. What do they qualify as? Izana supposes it would be the lattermost option if it had to be confined down to a singular option. 

   He’s as graceful on the ice as he is in a fight, the world falling muted for a moment as the string lights cast a warm glow over the ice rink as he slides onto the ice. He casts a knowing look towards Ran, though amusement thrives in his eyes and coats his words when he speaks. It's a rarer lighthearted tone that appears on brief occasions when it was only one or two others rather than everyone.

   “  If you were hoping to see me fail, you’ll only be disappointed.  “  Shion on the other hand – there’s a reason that Izana and Ran were on the opposite side of the ice rink.  

   It’s also less crowded over here. Occasionally the flailing person or wandering group comes gliding across the ice near to them, but it is otherwise peaceful compared to the center and entrance of the rink where people are flocked together in tight bundles and chaotic shrieks and laughter. Being in a crowd or on his own has never seemed to phase Izana ; whenever he stands is his spotlight where he shows as confident and smiling. It was as empowering as it could be terrifying once you knew his strength. ( Such was the fate of those in juvie who had thought he'd be an easy target when he first arrived with a delicate smile — and then learned otherwise when he beat them all to a blooy pulp under his fist. ) His head tilts back, his breath forming a small cloud in the air as the stars shine high above artificial light. He glances at Ran from the corner of his eye briefly before looking ahead again. 

   “  Kakucho and I used to go ice skating sometimes when we were at the orphanage. “  It isn’t often that Izana speaks of his past, and certainly not of the times before juvie. Not to anyone other than Kakucho at least. Maybe it’s a Christmas miracle in its own right that he decides to share some coveted personal information. " Sort of. " He adds as an after thought with a chuckle. " We didn't have proper skates most of the time. Mostly because we snuck out at times. Only on occasion did we 'properly' skate. "  He cracks a smile at the memory when he looks more directly towards Ran this time and then back towards the ice..

[repulsiveliquidation]

Omg you don’t know kk?????

She’s honestly one of the best ice hockey players I’ve ever seen like she’s so fucking talented

Plus she’s insanely hot so

I’m prepared for your kk era to begin because she is perfect

Ice hockey isn’t a thing back home because we only have artificial rinks because it doesn’t snow and it’s expensive but she’s really hot and I will update you on my KK obsession because it starts now

I also cannot ice skate or rollerblade nor get on a skateboard because I’m a bit of a pussy