#i feel like i should have a crochet tag at this point

[c-cocco]

Omg, I was thinking more about this being post if/when they get back from hell after 5 but them doing it as kids would be adorable! I'm sure acting out the various sword fights would be a good way for Dante to get Vergil to play with him more (combining both his interests, tho honestly ever since I saw the hc of Dante liking Shakespeare years ago it's never left my mind).

I headcanon that Vergil spent a lot of time in libraries growing up. He would gather knowledge there, spend the night there often, and it reminded him of life pre-tragedy and comforted him. He still finds libraries to be a comforting place for him, considers them like a security blanket in a way.

[mxstellatayte]

pretty please: chapter two.

pretty please masterlist.

chapter two warnings: covid happens :(, avoiding big emotional conversations, phone sex (not graphic,) i definitely deleted any and all covid social distancing rules when i was writing this but it'S FOR THE PLOT, oral sex (f receiving, not graphic,) LEWIS IS SUGAR DADDY!!!!!!!! (but there's also feelings but we don't want to admit that yet hehehehehehe)

chapter two word count: 3.7k

taglist (crossed out means i could not tag you/no blog was found): @pear-1206 @vivi-81 @irishmanwhore @lucycowr @benstormy

@anat33-blog1 @Xoscar03 @tremendousstarlighttragedy @nenamalenaa @champagneproblems17

@marknolee @toby33b @theendofthematerialgworl @soloqualcosa @sassyinchident808

join my taglist here!

take my hand while we dance on the edge of a knife

tuesday, 3 december, 2019

your phone chimes in the formula 1 radio tone, a custom ringtone you'd set just for lewis. glancing away from your computer screen, you see a simple text.

Hey.

what should you say? "hey yourself?" no, too sassy. "hey, thanks for the mind-blowing sex a few days ago. i think i'm into you, do you wanna go out?" way too forward. "hey!" too excited.

you settle on a simple "hey." in response.

for good measure, you add on a second text.

Thanks for the flight yesterday :)

his response? a simple "Yeah of course!"

"alright. so i'm going to have to be the one to bring it up. gotcha."

so this was the dance that you'd be doing. you'd just move on from the most life-changing sex you've ever had with four texts. you'd take a step forward, try to ask about what this would mean for your professional relationship, if anything, and he'd have one-sentence answers before moving on to a different topic.

that's fine.

it totally didn't make you insane.

definitely not.

instead of thinking about your client-slash-friend-slash-maybe-fuck-buddy over your winter holidays, you opt for drowning yourself in advance work, opting to make your contributions to the february 2020 issue the best the world has ever seen. your articles for the january issue are long submitted, but now that you've submitted everything for finalization for the next two months, you have a staycation at home with your cats, crochet, shitty reality tv, and a lot of alcohol filling up your schedule for the next two weeks (and a short visit to your parents up in leeds for christmas, but that's naught but a short interruption to your routine,) and you don't intend on letting work interrupt a single moment of the next two weeks.

the key word in that sentence being intend.

although, is it really considered work if it's just texting back and forth with someone who's a client-slash-friend-slash-maybe-fuck-buddy and not exactly a coworker?

"girl, i swear down on my nan's grave," amelia begins, and you grin, already knowing you're about to get a true amelia lorenz lecture, "if you don't make a move on him before new year's, i will, and i don't think he even knows my name!" she continues by weaving an intricate web of every single sign she's seen that points to the mutual attraction between yourself and the driver, and you're not sure when the right time is to tell her that you've already had sex with him. luckily, you find an opportunity when she stands from your couch to refill her glass of whiskey and pauses her monologue.

"is now a good time to tell you that we shagged after abu dhabi?"

amelia's head whips around so fast you're surprised it doesn't snap off of her neck. "you what?" you grin sheepishly, any and all confidence you've ever had in your entire life having evaporated in a microsecond. when she sits down opposite you on the couch, her left leg tucked into her crotch and her right hanging off the side, she has to set her glass on your coffee table so that she doesn't splash the whiskey everywhere. you both know what's coming purely based off of her body language. she takes a deep breath, then presses her hands together in a prayer-like stace and rests the nook of her nose in her fingertips. "let me get this straight." she pauses. "you." her right hand points directly at you as she says your full name. "shagged the lewis hamilton. and you didn't tell me immediately?"

"why do you think i wasn't on the flight back?" amelia's eyes widen in realization, and a grin spreads across her face.

"he flew you back on his jet?" you nod, taking another sip of your drink, and amelia squeals with delight. "i need every single detail. start talking."

friday, 13 march, 2020

your phone vibrates on your desk, and you glance over at it, unlocking it when you see the f1 logo on the notification. your heart sinks when you see what the notification reads, though.

"formula 1, fia and agpc announce cancellation of the 2020 australian grand prix"

"shit," you mutter, switching your phone off and resting your head in your hands. it won't be long before the lockdown reaches london, you know that, but it's difficult knowing that lewis was looking forward to being in the car again, especially with some of the new regulations that he hoped would lead to closer racing.

you send him a text before you go to sleep- it's almost 3 am.

Sorry to hear about the race. I know you were looking forward to driving.

by the time you've fallen asleep, though, lewis has seen your text and he gnaws at his lower lip, his thumbs hesitating over the keyboard of his phone's screen. yeah, he was looking forward to driving, but as the pandemic numbers increased, his anxiety about the race weekend did, too.

Thanks. I'm glad they called it off, though. The numbers were getting too high too fast.

months pass. your interviews with various drivers at the monaco and british grands prix are moved to video calls. the world gets thrown into lockdown, eases out of it, and then gets thrown into lockdown once more. dolphins are spotted in the canals of venice. george floyd's murder sparks a revolution that reaches all corners of the globe.

you don't go a day without texting, calling, or video calling with lewis.

it's sickening, really, how much his smile is keeping you sane. well, if you're being honest, it's a combination of his smile, your medication, and going on a lot of walks around your neighbourhood. leytonstone is a lovely part of london, yes, but there's only so many different routes you can take around the neighbourhood before you start itching to jump on a train and go anywhere.

in early june, you get the email. you'll be traveling to silverstone for a set of interviews with various drivers for the 70th anniversary race. it's the fifth of seventeen races on the updated calendar, and the email states that you may be sent to the abu dhabi grand prix, as well.

wednesday, 29 july, 2020.

you're practically vibrating with excitement as you board the first of four trains that will take you to your hotel. you're leaving a week before you're due in silverstone, though, because why wouldn't you take advantage of the double header race? you've never been to a race purely as a spectator and your giddiness makes you laugh. how going to a race has given you the butterflies in your stomach that you haven't felt since you were a teenager, you'll never know. sure, with the fia's no-spectator rule, you aren't really sure how people are planning on watching the race, but you're sure you'll learn as the weekend progresses. either way, you're one of many fans taking the train up to silverstone despite the rules stating that no fans could enter the paddock or the grandstands, many hopeful that simply being in the same general area might get them a chance of seeing any of the drivers in person. a few of the racing fans on the train even recognize you, one timidly holding the july 2019 edition of vogue.

the edition where your first interview with lewis was published.

"could you sign it?"

your jaw opens and closes beneath your mask a few times before you're able to regain your composure, accepting the magazine and sharpie from her with a smile.

"what's your name, darling? here, sit with me." she does, sitting across the aisle from you and nervously tucking a curl of ginger-brown hair behind her ear.

"kathleen. but you can call me kat," she adds, and you smile as you write a small note on the inside cover, adding your signature afterwards. "are you interviewing lewis hamilton this weekend?"

"i don't have any interviews this weekend. just next weekend." you look more intently at kat's outfit, and you smile below your mask. she's wearing a mercedes hoodie and baggy jeans, and you notice that her outfit reminds you of someone. "i like your outfit. it reminds me of some of lewis' outfits, actually." kat beams beneath her mask, her eyes scrunching up into happy crescents.

"thank you! he's kinda the inspiration behind my outfits for the weekend. i'm a huge fan of him, have been for years. i'll be honest, i didn't read much about fashion until you interviewed him, but i really liked your article and looked up some of your others. the one you wrote critiquing paparazzi for stalking celebrities was incredible! you wrote it so freely. i loved it." kat catches herself, noticing her rambling, folding her hands in her lap nervously. "sorry. i talk when i'm nervous."

"you have nothing to be nervous about. i'm just another human being." you hesitate a moment, leaning over to her as you pass the magazine and sharpie marker back. "can i tell you a secret?" she nods. "i was terrified the first time i interviewed lewis." kat's eyes grow wide, and you nod. "i was so nervous. i almost got sick a couple of times, actually."

"really?"

"mhm. i'm surprised i didn't."

"i definitely would."

"i doubt that. lewis is as nice- if not nicer- than he seems. after the first five minutes of talking to him, i knew i had nothing to worry about."

the two of you spend the remaining time on the trains talking together, and she animatedly drags her father towards you and you shake his hand, introducing yourself.

"pleasure to meet you. my name's dan. thank you for being a role model for my little girl." your heart swells with pride at the praise, and you nod.

"you're raising a very fine young woman, dan. she's got a bright future ahead of her." dan nods and thanks you, grinning behind his mask. you know, from what kat's told you, that dan has been a fan of formula 1 since the michael schumacher days and that he's been to three grands prix in his life- silverstone 2003, silverstone 2004, and germany 2008. this'll be his fourth. you also know that the white and papaya t-shirt he's wearing is from the most recent race he's attended. "do you happen to have instagram, dan?"

"i do, why?" his eyes narrow slightly, and you can understand why your question seems a little strange.

"i'm writing a piece about fan presence at recent grands prix, since there's been the 'no fans allowed inside' order from the fia, and would love to interview you and kat before and after the weekend," you lie. "i'd be willing to keep you both anonymous, if you'd like. if i can message you on instagram, it wouldn't be as much of a hassle as writing emails to communicate."

"i'd prefer we remain anonymous, but i'm sure she'd love to be interviewed."

you can't tie me down, but you can tie me up

thursday, 30 july, 2020.

the next morning, you call lewis, the hotel's breakfast menu next to you on your bed and your notepad perched on your lap, your pre-weekend "interview" with dan and kat in just over 90 minutes. lewis picks up the call on the third ring.

"hey!" you have to bite your lip to keep yourself from smiling too much, a rush of dopamine flooding your brain at the sound of his voice. "can i call you back in half an hour? i've got media stuff to do in about five minutes."

"i'll be fast. can you get two paddock passes made for sunday under the names kathleen and dan gallagher?"

"they'll have to be media passes, but yeah, why?"

"you'll see. i'll text you the names so you have them. see you in a few days!"

after texting bono a quick message regarding your own pass and ensuring that he would keep it completely and entirely a secret from lewis, you flop backwards onto your bed, staring at the ceiling for a moment. "what the hell have i gotten myself into?"

since the pandemic began, your relationship with lewis has been... well... less than professional.

your daily phone calls and texts with him have contained topics that still make shivers run up your spine and a flush of heat fill your cheeks and neck when you think about them. there have been many nights where you've been on a call with lewis and you're both breathing heavily, clothes messily strewn across your respective beds in a rush to lay back against your pillows and touch yourself to completion, obeying each other's commands and wishes.

there have also been many nights where you're tucked into your beds, roscoe fast asleep next to lewis and your own furry companions, pipsqueak and garfburger, the latter of which amelia named, curled into a ball of rare calmness next to you. the two of you ultimately fall asleep on the call, the idea of having someone with you, even if not physically, helping soothe your anxiety.

both types of calls are incredibly intimate and beautiful, each in their own way.

four days later, you're meeting up with bono outside the paddock to get your own pass and messaging back and forth with dan, attempting to figure out where you can meet him near the paddock entrance. trying to explain to him why you need to meet up today when your scheduled interview time is tomorrow without giving too many details proves to be a difficult task but you're thankfully able to manage. five minutes after bono appears, three media passes in hand, you see dan and kat round the corner. you wave him down, a smile on your face, and kat immediately comes running over to you. today, she sports a pair of baggy jeans, a hamilton jersey over what you assume is the same mercedes hoodie she was wearing on the train, and an incredibly well-loved pair of black platform converse.

"good morning to you both," you say, a bright grin on your face beneath your mask. from the way kat's eyes scrunch up behind glasses you can tell her own smile outshines your own.

"good morning! dad said you had some mid-weekend questions for us?"

"well..." your eyes flick back and forth between dan and kat, and you can see the gears turning in dan's head, but kat remains oblivious. "the mid-weekend questions were a bit of a lie, but i think- i hope- that what i have in my jacket pocket is enough for you to forgive me." with that, you pull the two black and purple media passes out of your jacket, check which one has kat's name on it and which has dan's, and hand them to their respective owners. "kathleen and dan gallagher, welcome to the formula 1 silverstone paddock."

"are you serious?" dan says in disbelief, and when you nod, kat squeaks in delight and throws herself at you, wrapping her arms around you in a vice grip.

"thank you thank you, thank you!"

"you're very welcome. are you ready to go see some cool cars?"

"is that a joke? of course!" kat looks at her father, hoping for some small nod of approval, and, when he does, you think the girl still glued to your torso might just combust from excitement. you can tell that dan's barely containing his own joy, his eyes mirroring the amount of joy you see in kat's.

"in that case, let's go." after about an hour of walking through the paddock, finding spare headsets in the mclaren garage, and smiling as kat and dan can't control their own amazement at the works of engineering in front of them land sheepishly asking a few drivers for photos,) you make your way, finally, to the mercedes garage. "re you two hungry at all? care for a coffee or tea? mercedes has the best food in the paddock. "

"i'd love a coffee, actually." dan says. "kat? you want anything?"

"a cuppa sounds perfect, thank you."

"i've got it. here, have a seat, i'll be right back, " you say, attempting to sound as casual as physically possible when you know you're about to blow their minds. they sit at one of the tables in the small cafe, and you go up to the barista, ordering dan and kat's drinks before ducking away and making your way to lewis' driver's room, knocking a few times and stepping back, smiling when the door opens and you see him, fuck, he looks good. "hi, lewis."

he knew you were going to be in silver stone for the 70th anniversary race, but that isn't until next weekend. "you've here early," he says, leaning against the doorframe. "why's that?"

"i can't want to see my favorite driver at his home race?" you cock an eyebrow and cross your arms, but there's sarcasm evident in your voice. "plus, i missed you. can i tie up your schedule for a bit?"

"it depends. how is my schedule being tied up if i agree?" lewis is matching your own bass, and you smile.

"just some people i'd like you to meet. remember those passes i asked you to have made? well... they're in the cafe and i think the cherry on top of their day would be meeting you."

"in that case, you can tie up my schedule, but i only have fifteen minutes before the strategy meeting." you grin brightly, and your eyes squishing in the corners makes lewis smile in turn, "before we go, though, i do have a little request. come in for a quick minute?" he steps to the side and you gladly follow, turning towards lewis when you hear the door click shut behind you. he's taking off his Mercedes- branded face mask, and you take that as permission lo take your own off. "you know..." he begins, stepping towards you. your breath catches in your throat as all of your senses one immediately overwhelmed with everything lewis. his left hand comes up to hold your and check you gladly lean into his touch, the gentleness of his touch a stark contrast his calloused to fingertips. the next words he says ring in your head, repeating like church bells.

"i missed you, too." those words are the last thing you process before lewis' lips are on yours and every ounce of tension leaves your body.

"mm, lewis, " you say, pulling away from the blissful kiss much to your dismay. "our guests are waiting." lewis groans, and you giggle.

"fine, but after we've done with that and i'm free from my strategy meeting, we're coming back here and finishing what we started."

"deal."

kat and dan are, obviously, completely and entirely dumbfounded when you return to the cafe, six-time world champion in tow.

they're even happier when they watch lewis cross the line in first place, five seconds ahead of max verstappen.

after the podium and post-race interviews, you find yourself crowded against the wall of lewis' driver's room yet again. your kisses are hot and messy, desperate hands wandering around each other's bodies. sometime in the lust-addled haze, you're laying back onto the couch pushed against the back wall and your jeans are being thrown somewhere across the room. whatever, you don't care where they are or how wrinkled they're going to be because lewis is eating you out again and, within minutes, you're cumming on his tongue again as his nose bumps against your clit. when he kisses you, your cum smears on your cheeks and chin and nose and it's so, so filthy, but you wouldn't have it any other way.

"are you coming to any other races this year?" lewis speaks up, his voice echoing through his chest. he's found you a pair of joggers that you'd slipped on after another set of blissful kisses and a messy (but very perfect) handjob. he's laying on the couch and you're resting on top of him, your arms wrapped around his torso and his own surrounding your shoulders. your socked feet are tangled with lewis' own, and his fingers, unusually absent of any jewelry, run gently along the curve of your shoulders.

"i'm not sure. i haven't gotten any race assignments yet from upper management, and traveling is really difficult right now if you don't have a work visa."

"i bet i can send some emails." you can almost hear the smirk in his voice.

"lewis," you scoff, burying your face in his chest. he smells like forests and jasmine and safety. "you're going to be the death of me."

[pastelitey]

Solidaritek: Keep You Warm

It's the holidays and between Christmas parties with friends and working through the painfully slow process of moving in together, Jimmy is finally ready to say "I love you" to Tango for the first time. If only he could find the right moment to do it. word count: 6811 pairings: Jimmy/Tango, Implied!Grian/Scar tags: Modern AU, Christmas, Christmas party, Mistletoe, Domestic fluff [ao3 link]

When the holidays arrive, Jimmy and Tango are in the middle of moving in together. They’re eagerly waiting for Tango’s lease to be up in January, and have been steadily moving things from his apartment to Jimmy’s in the meantime. The living room is filled with more moving boxes than Christmas decorations at this point, but neither of them are complaining. With every passing day it becomes more real that they’re actually doing this, that after a certain point Tango will stop ‘spending the night’ and will actually start to call Jimmy’s space his own. It makes Jimmy a little dizzy when he thinks about it.

Jimmy gets home a little after five o’clock on Christmas Eve and immediately gets to work. He pulls ingredients out of the fridge and the cupboards to make soup. While he’s never considered himself a great cook, when compared with Tango’s abilities, he looks like he belongs in a professional kitchen somewhere in Paris. So he ends up cooking most days, but he really doesn’t mind.

While he waits for the stock to heat up on the stove he begins rearranging the boxes in the living room, something he really should have done earlier. Some of Tango’s stuff is already interspersed with Jimmy’s within the apartment, but the majority of it is still stuffed into cardboard boxes to be taken care of at a later date. Tango keeps assuring Jimmy that he’ll get around to it eventually, but every time he comes over to get started on it he ends up distracted by something or other.

As Jimmy’s stirring all the ingredients together in the pot he hears keys jangle in the door. It brings a smile to his face, reminding him of the day not so long ago when he’d given Tango the spare key. Tango’s grin at that moment was like a million suns shining all at once, and Jimmy never wanted to look away.

Tango enters the apartment like he always does; in a whirlwind. He’s muttering something under his breath, keys jangling violently before he throws them on the counter. Jimmy looks over his shoulder, smiling fondly at the man as he kicks the door closed, arms filled with a comically oversized paper grocery bag. He kicks off his shoes and when he sees Jimmy looking, greets him with a smile that never fails to take Jimmy’s breath away.

“Hi, Jim!” Tango says chipperly. He sets the paper bag down on the counter and races around the island to greet him properly, with a kiss. Jimmy steps away from the burner right before Tango barrels into him, latching onto him and kissing the corner of Jimmy’s mouth.

Jimmy’s heart swells as Tango pulls away, arms still wrapped around him. “Hi,” he says back, eyes raking over Tango now that he’s up close. He’s wearing his puffy winter coat that Jimmy always jokes makes him look like a penguin, complete with a fine layer of snow dusted across his shoulders. His nose and cheeks are tinged red from the cold, making him look all the more cuddly. And to top it all off, he’s wearing the terrible beanie Jimmy crocheted for him during his phase of thinking crochet was his new big thing. Needless to say, it absolutely was not, but Tango still wears the black and red beanie religiously.

Jimmy’s heart swells and he wants to say it, to tell Tango right now about the feelings that he’s finally accepted. But Tango pulls away as quickly as he sprang into Jimmy’s arms, and the chance is lost. But that’s okay, Jimmy decides, because when he couldn’t sleep the other night because of it he came to the conclusion that when he was going to tell Tango it needed to be during a special moment. And while practically every moment with Tango is special, Jimmy wants to be able to look back on it fondly instead of cringing at his past self for saying it in the middle of the kitchen.

“Let me take my stuff off and then I’ll help you!” Tango says, already unzipping his coat as he prances towards the bedroom. Jimmy smiles, watching him as he goes, before turning back to the pot on the stove. He’s still smiling to himself like a fool, replaying the moment where he almost said it over and over.

Tango reappears a minute later once his layers have been shucked off, dressed in a simple red sweater and the cargo pants he’s determined are still in good shape. Jimmy puts the lid over the pot and follows Tango over to the island where the paper bag sits.

“Did you get the bread?” Jimmy asks, peering into the contents of the bag. It’s snatched out of view almost immediately by a wide-eyed Tango, who rifles through it and pulls out a smaller, plastic bag. He shoves it behind his back with a cheshire grin, replacing the paper bag on the counter.

“I haven’t wrapped your present yet!” Tango explains, inching his way back towards the bedroom, positioned so that Jimmy can’t see behind him. Once close enough, he dashes into the room, certainly to hide the gift out of sight. Jimmy rolls his eyes fondly and turns back to the paper bag, head swimming with adoration for the man.

They eat their dinner and talk about their days with that yuletide log youtube video looping in the background. Tango got off work early to do some last-minute shopping for his secret santa gift for tomorrow, which Jimmy has been on his case for for the past two weeks. He’s sympathetic when Tango describes how busy the shops were, but ultimately it was worth it when Tango found the perfect item for his secret santa. Although they’ve agreed to keep their secret santa’s identities secret, Jimmy is fairly certain that Tango’s is Grian, based solely off of the fact that it took him so long to even come up with an idea for what to get them.

When their dinner is finished, Tango makes them hot chocolate(one of the only things Jimmy trusts Tango not to burn) and they settle on the couch to watch a cheesy Christmas movie Jimmy loved when he was a kid. The entire time they’re watching he keeps assuring Tango it was better when he was ten years old, which only makes the other man cackle and curl into Jimmy’s side even more. It’s moments like these that are so immensely precious to Jimmy, and he knows he wouldn’t trade any of this for the world.

When the movie is over Jimmy decides it’s time for bed. Tango wants to stay up but Jimmy can see the dark circles growing under his eyes and forces him into some pajamas so they can get to sleep. Most of Tango’s pajamas consist of Jimmy’s casual clothes, which he really doesn’t mind, especially since he likes seeing Tango in his things.

They tuck themselves into bed and even though the bed is big enough for them both to sleep comfortably on their own sides, Tango always insists on curling up to Jimmy like a clingy cat. Jimmy watches the snow fall outside through the window as Tango gets comfy, running his hand absentmindedly through Tango’s hair as he begins to still on top of Jimmy’s chest.

“G’night,” Tango says, his voice rumbly against Jimmy’s diaphragm.

Jimmy smiles, pressing a kiss against Tango’s head as best he can at the awkward angle. “Goodnight.” Another set of words hang on the edge of Jimmy’s tongue, ready to catapult themselves into the space between the two of them and possibly disrupt everything. Maybe right now, curled up in bed with Tango’s head on Jimmy’s chest on Christmas Eve, it would be the perfect time to say it. Years down the line they could reminisce on Jimmy’s perfect timing and laugh fondly about it.

But he takes too long to think about it and Tango is already out like a light, snoring softly. Jimmy shakes his head affectionately at the other man, pulling him closer and closing his eyes, thinking I love you as sleep whisks him away.

~ ~ ~

When the morning arrives and Jimmy wakes up, it’s to the early morning winter light filtering in through the window and to the smell of something delicious wafting in through the open bedroom door. Jimmy stretches his arms as he registers Tango is not in bed, and begins wondering what Tango is up to in the kitchen. He doesn’t smell anything burning yet, so there’s still hope.

When he peels himself out of the warm bed, he puts on his bunny slippers(a gift from Tango once the weather started turning) and carefully makes his way to the kitchen. He tries to make his steps as loud as possible, knowing how easily Tango can startle when he’s focused on something. Thankfully as soon as he rounds the corner Tango is greeting him with that gorgeous smile of his and some sort of frosting or food coloring on his face.

“Morning!” Tango greets cheerfully. “I’m making pancakes!”

Jimmy hums softly, walking over and surveying the accumulating mess on the counters and stovetop. “So that’s what I could smell.” He plants a kiss on Tango’s cheek, nuzzling into him and enjoying his warmth.

“Don’t worry, I have the stove turned down so I don’t burn them this time.” Tango flips an artificially colored green pancake onto the only Christmas themed plate Jimmy owns, holding it up to Jimmy. “Look, Christmas trees!”

Jimmy looks down at the unfortunately shaped blob that kind of resembles a tree, more in color than shape. Jimmy can’t help but crack a smile, but manages to hold back a laugh.

“Is that what it’s supposed to be?”

Tango rolls his eyes. “Uh, yeah! I also made some in the shape of stockings, but they look more like candy canes, just without the stripes.” He dances off to the island with the plate in hand, where he adds the Christmas tree pancake to a growing pile of the breakfast treats. Jimmy has to admit that Tango is decent at making pancakes, for whatever reason. Even if he makes a mess of the kitchen while doing so, Jimmy has no reservations against allowing Tango to take the reins when he decides he wants pancakes.

He turns off the burner when Tango forgets to and they clean up the mess of pancake batter and food dye together. Tango makes Jimmy admire his pancake creations before they eat them, and Jimmy has to give praise to each individual pancake before they can even take the syrup out of the cupboard. It’s worth it, in the end, when Tango kisses Jimmy as a little prize and Jimmy feels like he’s floating.

He wipes the pancake batter and flour off of Tango’s chin after some resistance and he feels the words rise up in his throat again, but manages to keep them down.

After they eat their Christmas themed pancakes, Jimmy has to brush his teeth feverishly to get some of the food dye off, and then after that it’s time for presents.

Jimmy is quite proud of his present for Tango. He’d been planning it for a while, as he first saw Tango ogling it through a shop window back at the beginning of September. It’s a multi-tool kit with lots of bits and bobs that Jimmy is sure would come in handy with some of Tango’s projects that he likes to work on. He even made sure he got the red one, Tango’s favorite color. He bought one of those little gift boxes people usually put jewelry in with a little custom tag and he even googled a calligraphy website to put Tango’s name on it and make it extra special.

It’s all worth it, too, because when Tango opens the box he practically starts bouncing off the walls. Jimmy’s face is peppered with kisses and he gets to hear Tango’s little ramblings about how much he loves it, which makes Jimmy only grow more affectionate for him. Thankfully before he can even start to consider telling Tango the thing he’s been dying to tell him, Tango is shoving his gift into Jimmy’s lap.

Giddy, Jimmy opens the gift bag and pulls out an immense amount of tissue paper. At the bottom of the bag, wrapped in one last layer of tissue paper, is a fuzzy, blue and red sweater. Jimmy smiles as he holds it up, but the smile disappears once he sees what’s on the front of it.

“It’s Captain America!” Tango says, snickering to himself.

Jimmy gives Tango an unimpressed look. “I can see that.”

As Tango begins laughing, Jimmy just shakes his head affectionately. It really is a nice sweater, save for the tacky image of the patriotic superhero that’s stuck to the front of it. He begins wondering if he can use a pair of scissors or something to take it off, but then Tango might be upset, so he better not.

“Did you just buy this for me so you can steal it from me?” Jimmy asks with a raised eyebrow. Tango knows that Jimmy loves his sweaters, but Jimmy knows that Tango loves to steal said sweaters.

Tango, looking quite pleased with himself, shakes his head. “No, actually.” He pulls something out from behind his back, and soon Jimmy is gaping at the red and yellow sweater displayed before him. “I got a matching one for myself!”

Tango’s sweater has Iron Man plastered on the middle of it instead of Captain America, but the pattern is the same. Jimmy puts his head in his hands as Tango laughs, but at least he’s enjoying himself.

“I can’t believe you,” Jimmy says, face flushing a deep red color. He never should have told Tango about the Captain America knock-off avatar he used for all the old games he used to play.

“I figured we could wear them to the party, so everyone knows we came together!” Tango explains with a grin, already pulling his sweater over top of his pajama shirt.

Jimmy pouts at Tango goodnaturedly. “Everyone already knows we’re coming together.”

“Please?” Tango says, leaning close with his hands clasped in front of him.

Jimmy looks over his sweater one last time and rolls his eyes. “Of course I’m going to wear it.” He gives Tango a quick peck on the lips, holding the sweater close to his chest. “Thank you.”

It hadn’t been what he was expecting, but it really is sweet. Jimmy could care less about the worth or practicality of whatever gift he received, all that mattered to Jimmy was the thought behind it. And yeah, it would certainly be embarrassing to wear to the Christmas party, but at least Tango would be wearing a matching one beside him.

And just the thought of matching with Tango—visually showing off to all their friends that they’re together—makes Jimmy happier than ever.

~ ~ ~

Thanks to the terrible traffic and the winter roads, Jimmy and Tango end up being some of the last few people to arrive at the party. After finding a parking spot, Jimmy carries the sweet potato casserole he cooked up while Tango’s in charge of carrying the secret santa gifts. The sun is already going down as they approach the front door, warm lighting emanating from the windows of Grian’s home. Thankfully the walkway has been cleared so they make it to the front door in one piece.

Just as Jimmy raises a hand to knock on the door, it swings open and someone plucks the glass pan right out of his arms. “Thank you!” Grian cheers with a devilish grin, before slamming the door on them. Jimmy takes a second to comprehend what just happened as he hears Grian shout about the arrival of the sweet potatoes followed by hearty laughter from the other partygoers.

“Did he just do what I think he just did?” Tango says, giggling despite Jimmy’s unimpressed expression.

“He did,” Jimmy grits out. He knocks on the door properly this time, despite not hearing Grian lock it behind himself. Jimmy imagines Grian must be getting a kick out of himself right now.

When the door opens the second time, Scar is standing in the doorway. “Well hello there! Glad to see you two could finally make it!” He ushers them inside the warm house and Jimmy is immediately overwhelmed by the smell of good food ruminating throughout the place.

“Thanks for letting us in!” Jimmy says with a shake of his head, pulling off his coat before helping Tango to do the same.

“Not a problem!” Scar says with an easy smile. Jimmy feels slightly less silly about what he and Tango are wearing when he sees the obnoxiously bright Christmas cat sweater Scar is currently donning, complete with little blinking lights and golden pom-poms. He looks like a walking Christmas tree that someone’s got their cat stuck in.

“Where’s the gift table?” Tango asks, spinning around as they survey the unfolding festivities. It seems like everyone else has arrived already, with Cleo, Ren and Martyn gossiping on one end of the couch, Gem and Bdubs fighting over control of the speaker and what Christmas song to play, Joel and Lizzie splayed out on the carpet and playing with the dog—wait, whose dog is that?—and even more voices coming from the kitchen.

“Gift table is in the dining room, I can take them for—Oh. My. Gosh.” Scar’s jaw drops and his eyes physically light up, and it takes Jimmy a second to register what’s going on. “Are those Marvel Christmas sweaters I see?”

Tango beams with pride. “Mm-hm! Check them out!”

Jimmy tries not to die of embarrassment as Scar oohs and ahs at their sweaters. Tango, on the other hand, seems very pleased with himself and is currently getting a kick out of how red Jimmy’s face is right now.

“Those are absolutely amayzin’!” Scar’s grin quickly melts into a pout. “I wish Grian would have done matching sweaters with me.”

“Speaking of Grian!” Jimmy says, peeking around Scar and towards the kitchen. “I need to figure out what he did with our potatoes!” He ducks around Scar but when he turns to ask Tango if he’s coming, Scar already has an arm slung around his shoulder and is pestering him about his favorite Iron Man movie. He decides to leave Tango to it as payback for making them wear the ridiculous sweaters in the first place. Tango should have known Scar was going to lose his mind over them.

Unlike Jimmy’s apartment, Grian’s house is decorated head-to-toe with Christmas paraphernalia. There’s a tree set up in practically every room, festive wall hangings strung about and those little Christmas village figurines decorating every available surface. Jimmy makes sure to keep an eye above him every time he passes under a doorway just in case Grian decided to break out the mistletoe again.

For every single holiday season that Jimmy has known Grian, he’s always thrown parties for them and their friends to celebrate. And Grian, being the cheeky little prankster he is, used to hang up a fake mistletoe in a random doorway and not tell people about it until two people were under it. He loved watching everyone awkwardly dart around it the whole time and calling people out if they wound up under it with another person, to everyone else’s dismay. But the fun came to an end when last year Grian and Scar wound up under it and he immediately ripped it off and declared there would be ‘no more mistletoe’. So even though Jimmy has no idea if Grian put it back up this year, he’s going to keep being cautious about it.

When Jimmy gets to the kitchen it’s bustling with activity. Skizz and BigB are at the counter sneaking popcorn and chocolates out of the treat bowls while Impulse tries to fend them off, claiming they’ll ‘ruin their appetites’, while Pearl and Mumbo are helping Grian get everything set up for dinner.

Mumbo is the first to spot Jimmy, greeting him with a smile. “Jimmy! Welcome in, bud.”

“Hi Jimmy!” Pearl says, running from one end of the kitchen to the other with a steaming tray in hand.

Grian narrows his gaze at Jimmy from over his shoulder. “Alright, who let this guy in?”

“You invited me,” Jimmy says, planting his hands on his hips. “Now what have you done with my potatoes?”

“Oh, are those yours?” Mumbo says, looking down at the exact dish Jimmy just had stolen from him two minutes ago. “I was wondering where they came from.”

Jimmy huffs. “He just took my potatoes and left me on the doorstep, shivering in the cold!”

Pearl gasps, affronted. “Grian, how could you do that to poor Jimmy?”

“You can’t just make off with someone else’s potatoes, G,” Mumbo says, shaking his head.

Grian rolls his eyes as he dusts off his hands. “I did nothing of the sort—what on earth are you wearing?”

All eyes turn to Jimmy and he feels the room gets ten times warmer.

“That’s… definitely something,” Mumbo says.

Jimmy crosses his arms against his chest, attempting to hide the decal of Captain America. “It’s just a sweater, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Tango’s got a matching one.” Jimmy spins around to see Joel standing just behind him, looking smug as he eats directly from a bag of chex cereal.

“Joel!” Pearl cries, snatching the bag of cereal out of his hands. “Those are for the muddy buddies!”

Grian starts giggling which only makes Jimmy’s face heat up even more. “Oh, this I’ve got to see!” He darts out of the kitchen before Jimmy can stop him, telling Pearl to keep an eye on the oven for him.

“Oh my gosh, this is so embarrassing,” Jimmy says, hiding his face behind his hands.

Mumbo pats him on the shoulder. “Cheer up, mate! You should have seen the sweater Scar tried to get Grian to wear.” That does not make Jimmy feel any better, seeing as Grian isn’t wearing the silly sweater but Jimmy is.

Despite the fact that Jimmy is wearing the sweater for Tango, he still feels properly flustered about it, especially upon seeing everyone else’s reaction to it.

Impulse walks into the kitchen balancing multiple different bowls of snacks, probably to get them away from Skizz and BigB. He lights up when he sees Jimmy’s sweater. “Hey, I’m glad I’m not the only one who wore a silly Christmas sweater!” Impulse’s is a more classic Christmas sweater, complete with Santa’s sleigh and the eight reindeer, but it’s not nearly as absurd as Jimmy’s.

Joel snickers and Jimmy has half a mind to slap his hand over his friend’s mouth. “You should see the one Tango’s got on, Impulse.”

“Oh?” Impulse says, an eyebrow raised in amusement.

“What’s Top wearing?” Skizz asks, popping his head into the kitchen.

“Joel!” Jimmy groans as the two dart off, surely to find Tango so they can pick on Jimmy even more. Jimmy turns and glowers at Joel, who just shrugs in response. “You are the absolute worst.”

Joel grabs a chocolate out of the snack bowl Impulse has newly relocated. “You make it too easy, sometimes, Jim.” Jimmy tries to pretend he’s not listening by watching Pearl stir the soup on top of the stove. “You must really love him if you’re willing to wear that stupid sweater for him.”

Jimmy stiffens up at that. Out of all the things Joel could have said, why that? He can’t have known about Jimmy’s internal struggle with that exact word, right?

Jimmy just deflects from Joel’s statement and attempts to busy himself by helping with the dinner preparations, deciding that it’s going to be a long night.

~ ~ ~

Once everyone else has gotten over the hysterics of Jimmy and Tango’s matching sweaters, the party goes pretty smoothly. They have dinner and there’s barely enough room for them all at the table because of how much food there is, and because Grian’s table was certainly not meant for so many people to be eating at. But it’s nice and cozy even when they’re all squished up next to each other. Jimmy’s sweet potatoes seem to be a big hit, even if Joel and Grian keep denying that they were Jimmy’s doing.

After that it’s time for secret santa presents and Jimmy sits on one end of the couch with Tango pressed into his side. He hadn’t expected it to take so long to go around the circle and dish out all the presents, but considering how many of them were involved in it, he decides that he should have seen it coming. Gem gifts Jimmy an adorable cat calendar and Ren seems to be a big fan of the retro aviators that Jimmy thrifted for him. And Jimmy was correct in assuming Tango had Grian, and Grian’s reaction to the gag gift is absolutely priceless.

There’s a bit of downtime before the next activity wherein Impulse and Skizz attempt to convince Jimmy to come play hockey with them. Normally Jimmy would be happy to come along to an activity with some of Tango’s friends, but he’s seen how these guys play hockey, and it’s no joke. Jimmy came along to watch one of Tango’s last games and he swears he’s never seen the three friends ever get so competitive. But he has to admit, Tango does look good when he plays. Really good. So maybe it’s not a good idea for him to join them, he might just get too distracted by his boyfriend and make them lose the game.

“What were you guys talking about?” Tango asks as he rejoins Jimmy a few minutes later, holding two glasses of sparkling cider. He offers one to Jimmy who takes it gratefully and tries not to get lost in Tango’s eyes before he can answer his question.

Jimmy shrugs and raises his glass. “Oh, nothing. They just were trying to get me to join you guys at hockey.”

Tango’s eyes light up and Jimmy already knows he’s a doomed man. “Oh, Jimmy! You totally should, it would be so much fun!”

He rolls his eyes playfully. “I dunno, Tango, I don’t think I’m a hockey guy.” It’s true, but it’s also because his infatuation with Tango will be a huge detriment to the both of them. And he’d never hear the end of it from Tango and their friends if something like that happened while they were on the ice.

“Timmy playing hockey? Now I’d like to see that!” Martyn chuckles as he walks by, a plate of apple pie in hand.

“Martyn’s just jealous ‘cause you’d beat him,” Tango says, voice lowered as he snakes a hand up Jimmy’s chest. Jimmy’s head goes fuzzy as he feels those words dancing on the tip of his tongue again.

Martyn blows a raspberry as he walks away to join a conversation with Scott. “Not a chance, Captain!”

“Get a room, you two,” Scott says with a self-satisfied smirk. Jimmy shakes his head as Tango pulls away from him, frowning. They both know it’s only playful joking, but sometimes it is bothersome when their friends ruin a moment.

Jimmy pats Tango’s shoulder. “How about some apple pie, huh?”

The glimmer returns to Tango’s expression. “Ooh, yes please!”

“Be right back!” Jimmy hands his glass to Tango and makes his way to the kitchen, passing by Cleo and Etho who are cooing over the dog in Pearl’s arms—must be Pearl’s dog, then. Lizzie and Joel are in the kitchen already, sampling the different desserts that have been provided. Jimmy keeps his eyes for the apple pie that he’d seen on Martyn’s plate, only he doesn’t spot it amongst the puddings and plates of cookies.

“Right, who ate all the apple pie?” Jimmy says, going as far as to open the fridge to check for it.

Lizzie looks around with her lips pressed into a thin line. “It looks like it disappeared! I think we need a real hero to figure out who took it!”

Jimmy shakes his head. “Right.” He grabs two paper plates and puts a cookie on each of them, making his way back out to the living room to Tango, only to find everyone grouped up and laughing about something. Jimmy almost wonders if he’s going to find out he’s the butt of another joke, until he realizes that Grian seems to be at the middle of all the fun.

When Jimmy gets up to the clumping of people, he finally gets a look at what they’re all laughing about. Grian’s face is just about as red as the fuzzy sweater he’s suddenly sporting, complete with little photorealistic cats decorating a Christmas tree with working, blinking lights. Scar stands just off to the side in his similar sweater, absolutely beaming.

“Aw, Grian!” Jimmy coos, “you look so cute!”

Grian crosses his arms across his chest, possibly to hide the ugly sweater. “This is all your fault, Tim!”

Scar slides an arm around Grian’s shoulder so that they’re side by side and their sweaters can be admired as they were meant to be—together. “Don’t we look wonderful, Grian? I’m so glad you finally agreed to wear the sweater!”

“Oh, me too!” Pearl says, brandishing her phone and snapping plenty of pictures. Grian tries to grab the phone out of her grasp but she dances away in time, and so begins a stand-off between the two. Jimmy steps away from the chaos, desperately attempting not to drop the frosted cookies onto the nice, clean carpet.

“Told you it wouldn’t be so bad.” Tango takes one of the plates from Jimmy and smiles up at him before taking a bite, keeping eye contact with Jimmy the whole time.

Jimmy wraps an arm around Tango’s side and pulls him close, all the while watching Grian try to unlock Pearl’s phone to distract himself from saying something prematurely. “I guess not.”

It was worth wearing the silly Captain America sweater to see Grian get his own comeuppance, but that doesn’t matter to Jimmy in the long run. It’s making Tango happy, so what’s the harm there?

~ ~ ~

When the party begins fizzling out and people start heading home for the night, Jimmy and Tango offer to stay behind and help clean up. Jimmy doesn’t really mind all that much, and it seems like Grian appreciates the help.

“This thing is so itchy,” Grian complains, scratching at his arms and sides through his sweater. “I don’t know how Scar puts up with it.”

Jimmy shrugs, scrubbing the food grime off the last plate in the sink. “Have you considered that maybe it’s ‘cause he wanted to match with you?”

Grian goes quiet so Jimmy glances at him from over his shoulder. The dirty-blonde has gone still at the other end of the counter, wet rag in hand and a contemplative look on his face.

“I can’t see why he’d want to do that.” Grian shakes his head in disbelief. “Maybe he just enjoys looking ridiculous.”

Jimmy dries off his hands and gives a hearty sigh. He can try and help Grian get over some of the embarrassment related to the cat sweater, but he can’t coach Grian through realizing some of the unspoken feelings between him and Scar. It seems to be obvious to everyone but the two of them, so much so that Jimmy has even caught wind of Scott and Martyn making bets on how long it will be before one of them breaks.

“Anything else you need help with?” Jimmy asks, surveying the freshly cleaned kitchen. The dishes are done, the counters are wiped off and the leftovers have already been divvied up, so it seems like the kitchen may be good-to-go.

“You can see if Joel and Lizzie want some help taking down the decorations in the entryway,” Grian offers. Jimmy nods and heads off to the entryway, a bit baffled at how quickly Grian is to take down all the festive decorations. He’s always been a firm believer in leaving them up at least until New Years.

But Joel and Lizzie have the decorations in the entrance handled, and Scar and Mumbo are almost done with cleaning up the dining room, so it appears that it might be time for Jimmy to head home. He just has to find Tango, first, since he hasn’t seen the man since he started helping Grian in the kitchen.

He’s making sure he’s got all his things together when Tango comes into the living room, rather excitably, telling from the grin on his face.

“Jimmy!” Tango says cheerfully. It makes Jimmy’s heart throb with how excited he gets seeing Jimmy, even though they see each other practically everyday.

“Everything is all cleaned up,” Jimmy says, grabbing his coat. “You about ready to go?”

Tango rushes forward and grabs Jimmy’s coat from him. “Hold that thought! There’s something I want to show you.”

Jimmy quirks an eyebrow. “Oh?”

That’s all he gets to say before Tango’s dragging him through the house. Jimmy isn’t paying much attention to where they’re going, mostly baffled at Tango’s behavior. It’s not until they get to the hallway that Jimmy knows leads to the basement where Tango finally stops. He doesn’t bother to turn the light on, just looking up at Jimmy with a cheshire grin.

“You gonna tell me what we’re doing in this corner of the house?” Jimmy asks, looking to his left and right for an indicator to explain Tango’s strange behavior.

Tango just giggles in response, before taking a step closer to Jimmy and pointing upwards.

It hits Jimmy before he even looks up and sees the plastic plant tacked up on the ceiling.

“Holy moly.” Jimmy hides his face in his hands as Tango’s giggles become louder and more delighted. “I completely forgot about the mistletoe after everything that’s been happening tonight!”

“I’ve been looking for it all night!”

He pulls his hands away from his face, jaw slack with surprise. “I thought Grian swore he wasn’t going to put it up after what happened last year?”

Tango shrugs. “Guess he changed his mind.”

“That would explain why he put it in such a hidden location.”

Tango hums, looking up at Jimmy with a coy smile. “Still waiting on that kiss.”

Jimmy smiles, already leaning in. “Right.”

His eyes flutter shut instantly, their lips meeting with a practiced ease. Jimmy relishes in the feeling of finally having a private moment with Tango. Away from prying eyes, he allows himself to melt into Tango’s embrace, adjusting the angle of his head as Tango’s hand cups the back of his neck.

Jimmy can’t help but smile into the kiss, his hands instinctively framing either side of Tango’s waist. His thumbs travel below the hemline of Tango’s Iron Man sweater and press against his skin, which elicits a huffy laugh out of Tango at the sensation. Jimmy’s heart soars the longer the kiss goes on, the gentle yet firm slide of lips making his head swim with affection.

All Jimmy can think right now is I love you, I love you, I love you. He might just implode on himself if he holds it in any longer, so he makes up his mind—he’s going to say it right now.

Tango laughs affectionately when they part, his warm breath ghosting over Jimmy’s lips and sending shivers down his spine. Tango’s thumb traces the curve of Jimmy’s cheekbone delicately and the most accurate way he can describe how Tango is looking at him right now is as if Jimmy hung the moon and the stars for him. Jimmy is absolutely, positively smitten.

He loosens his grip on Tango’s waist and opens his mouth to finally say it, but someone else turns the corner before he can form the words.

“Hey Jim, Grian wants you to take home some of that fruitcake Cleo brought—” Joel freezes once he realizes he’s walked in on them, and Jimmy levels him with an unimpressed look. But Joel doesn’t even begin to muster out an apology, because once he spots the decor in the doorway above them, he’s running off to tell Grian that someone finally found the mistletoe.

Tango groans, canting forward and burying his face in Jimmy’s chest. “We can’t have one moment without being interrupted, can we?” He looks back up at Jimmy with that signature smile of his and Jimmy absolutely melts.

“I love you,” he says before he can stop himself. The words slip past his teeth easily, like second nature. They’re monumental and carry so much weight, yet Jimmy doesn’t shy away from the admission. He’s been dying to tell Tango this for so long that finally getting it out there is a weight lifted off his shoulders.

Tango’s chest rumbles against Jimmy's with the soft murmur of a laugh. “I love you, too.”

Tango goes to kiss Jimmy again but Jimmy stops him, gently pushing on his chest to put some space between them. Tango looks up at him with a sudden confusion painted on his expression, but Jimmy just stares at him.

“No, Tango,” he says, insistent, “I love you.” He says it more forcefully this time, like it will make Tango understand that he really, truly means it.

Tango cocks his head, brow still furrowed like he doesn’t know what Jimmy’s playing at. “Yeah, and I love you, too.”

Jimmy stares, slack-jawed and mortified. “That's not— I don’t—” He groans in frustration, burying his reddening face in his hands. Why is Tango acting so nonchalant about this? It’s a huge deal to Jimmy!

“What? What’s the face for?” Tango asks, worry wrought in his tone. He gently places his hands on Jimmy’s arms and it only makes the affection Jimmy holds for him grow.

Jimmy huffs, pulling his hands away from his face yet avoiding Tango’s gaze. “I’ve been trying to figure out how to tell you that all day, working myself up to it and finding the perfect moment and—” He shrugs flippantly, feeling his face become warmer and warmer. When he looks at Tango, his hands are over his mouth and his eyes are wide in shock, like he’s realized what he’s just done.

“Oh no,” Tango says with a giggle. “Really?” Jimmy nods, embarrassed out of his mind. Tango practically shrieks with laughter, coming closer and linking his hands behind Jimmy’s neck. “You’re adorable, Jimmy.” He goes up on his tip-toes and begins aggressively peppering Jimmy’s face with kisses.

Jimmy fights back the giggles but is ultimately unable to hold them back. “Stop it, stop it.” Tango starts giggling too and nearly loses his balance and knocks them both over, but Jimmy is able to right the both of them before they hit the floor. They’re only laughing harder now, and holding the other close. Jimmy revels in the closeness of their embrace, and the fact that he finally said it, and got a positive response. But, against his better nature, Jimmy doesn’t quite feel convinced just yet.

“You didn’t say it just because I did?” Jimmy asks, pulling away from the embrace so that he can look Tango in the eyes. “I’m not trying to pressure you or anything, I swear.”

Tango stares up at him with a blank expression. “Are you kidding?” he asks, deadpan. Jimmy shakes his head, genuinely worried for the answer. It comes in the form of Tango grabbing him by the side of his face and grinning from ear-to-ear. “I’m crazy about you! Hello? Matching sweaters, the mistletoe, the fact that we’re literally moving in together?”

Jimmy laughs as Tango jostles his cranium around. “Okay, okay! I got it.”

Tango smiles contentedly, hands now traveling down Jimmy’s chest. “And don’t you forget it.”

As if slotting into place, Jimmy ducks down and fits his lips against Tango’s. This kiss is gentle and slow, timed perfectly to the steady beating of Jimmy’s heart. He feels lighter, and his chest is filled with the warmth of knowing that he is loved by the very same man he is in love with. He grips the fabric of Tango’s sweater, smiling through the kiss at the romantic nature of their matching sweaters. They’re reminders that Jimmy will always have a piece of Tango with him, and the same for Tango.

Tango breaks the kiss just long enough to mumble against Jimmy’s lips, “I love you.”

And Jimmy smiles, heart full and more happy than in his wildest dreams. He pulls Tango as close to him as humanly possible, because he can never get enough of him. “I love you, too.”

[izzyandcrew]

Q&A

What is the Izzy and Crew Event?

It's an effort to foster positive energy and to revitalize and uplift our community through a group art project. (A bit like Izzy's prosthesis)

What's the theme of the event?

The theme is to explore the fellowship that exists or could exist between Izzy and various crew members. You're welcome to post content of just Izzy or just the crew member of the week, but ideally, entries should focus on the bond between them.

What kind of art are we talking about?

Anything at all! Draw, paint, write, photoshop, make memes and moodboards, sew, cosplay, take photos of your crochet dolls and puppets, collage, post headcanons. Whatever you can make will brighten someone's day.

Do we need to post something every day?

Do as much or as little as you want.

Do you have prompt lists?

Here's the Day of the Week Prompts.

Here’s the Big List of Prompts.

Use whatever sparks joy.

Are the prompt lists mandatory?

No, they’re totally optional. They're there for the folks who do best with a jumping-off point.

Can I post ship content? What about angst? Is there a rating limit?

Although shipping is not the focus, it is welcome. Angst is welcome, too, just keep the spirit of the event in mind. As for rating, post your content on the appropriate sites with the appropriate tags and we're all good.

What if I want to make content about the whole crew?

Sounds awesome! You can share ensemble crew content any time during the event.

What about Ed and Stede?

The event is already three months long, and there's a lot of existing content with Izzy and Ed and Stede, so the captains were ruled out. You're welcome to use Free Week, though.

What is Free Week?

Free Week is the last week of the event. Feel free to post about Izzy with any characters on the show or to revisit your favorite crew members if you like. (Izzy & OC or Y/N content also welcome during this week if that’s your jam)

I have a question you didn't cover.

Feel free to message me here or on my personal blog @deskgirl. If it's information that might help other folks, I'll add it here, too.

[the-teddy-bear-butch]

Hi how are you? Ask game time!

16, 47, 65 & 93?

:)

Hi anon!! I’m doing wonderfully rn! God bless the end of finals and the upcoming summer break. How are you? (Should you feel comfortable enough to reply, of course! I don’t bite :3) Thank you for giving me a chance to ramble :3 um. 16 got long so it’s at the bottom 🥰

47: how well-decorated is your bedroom?

That depends! If you mean well decorated as in how much decoration, yes, lots! Well as in nice/aesthetic um? I like it, but I know my maximalist style can be a Lot for some people LMAO. I have posters and D&D art everywhere, a rainbow carpet, Christmas lights strung through my bookshelf, knick knacks everywhere, etc.

65: do you have a Signature Outfit™?

Oh yes absolutely. Or at least a signature formula: graphic t-shirt under matching button up, jeans or shorts, maybe a cap or beanie. Here’s my favorite button up and jeans just for sillies :3

93: favorite game?

In an every context possible way (board game vs video game vs ttrpg), D&D, hands fucking down. But in terms of video games, I adore the Mass Effect series. No other video game series has made me cry quite so much. Baldur’s Gate 3 is a close second, though I am still in Act 3.

16: is there anyone you're not biologically related to that you consider "family"?

ABSOLUTELY. In fact, why don’t I tag those of them that exist here as an excuse to be a huge fucking sap about it and so you all can go follow them. (Uh. This gets long, so adding a read more thing. I get sappy after 10 pm oopsies)

While I am no longer in the fandom that brought us all together (nor are most of them), I do have to thank that fandom for being what put us all in one place. One beta reading comment left on a fic inspired me to finally pick up D&D again after years of failed campaigns—and we’ve been going strong near a year and a half now. This D&D group is fucking everything to me. These people have been with my through the lowest points of my life and I owe everything to them. Not only are they all talented in art, writing, poetry, and the many things they do, but they are all absolutely incredible people and the best friends I ever could have asked for. One little comment genuinely changed my life.

@daughterofdrearburh is one of the coolest people in the world. She’s smart as a whip, hilarious as fuck, and one of the kindest hearts I’ve ever met. If you get the chance, you should bug her about her novel (I am the number one Starblossom fan) and about her horse, Ginger, who she has made incredible strides with. I admire her a lot. Also about her homebrew/framkensteined together TTRPG she’s running, because it’s a fucking blast!!

@ninthhousesteel was actually the first of the gang that I was mutuals with!! She’s also incredibly funny (probably the most hilarious person I know, seriously they pop out of fucking nowhere with one liners that’ll leave you in stitches). She’s so fucking smart and doing incredible things in engineering (I may not understand it, but I know they’re going to do great things), as well as being a great artist and wonderful writer. Also? Incredible taste in music, frankly. Another thing to bug them about!

@haaawaiianshirt is like. I don’t even know where to start. The best personality ever. She’s funny, outgoing, unbelievably sweet, with just the right amount of bite! She’s like summertime personified, just warm and the best to be around. You can’t help but smile. Add onto that the most delicious art style and an incredible talent for so many different crafts (ask her about crochet beast!!). They’re going to be famous one day for being behind the set design of all your favorite theme parks and theme park rides.

@candle-lion is so COOL. I genuinely look up to her so so so much. Again with the super funny (literally can’t breathe with this group, you will be in stitches). One of the most talented writers I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading, an incredible DM, master at roleplay and making characters you can’t help but fall in love with, as a player or a DM. I admire everything she does in teaching—she is exactly the kind of teacher that our world is in desperate need of. She’s going to change lives, I just know it.

@lavenderlevetan where Emmie is summertime, Eve is autumn. She’s so unbelievably chill, a breath of fresh air to be around, a warm mug of tea of a person, if you catch my drift. She’s so sweet and so smart and sooo wonderful to hang out with, with possibly the most lovely laugh ever. Her writing is immaculate, and god I just LOVE the way she builds characters. You can’t help but be sucked into their inner workings. And yet another incredible artist!!

@suwunnysideup the master storyteller. I have never met someone with such a skill for weaving together stories and characters in such a beautiful web that you can’t help but be starstruck. Seriously, the world building is insane and so in depth, you can see how much they really care. They’re a fucking riot and my best fucking friend. Once again, another insanely talented artist, I need to shake their art like a chew toy. Ask them about carpe diem :3

And last but not least, while not an active PC in our main campaign, the group would not be complete without @avocadosockz . Our resident meme maker, comedian, character arc instigator, beloved guest star NPC, and best audience in the world—while also joining our side campaign as the funniest possible character choice in the world (ask her about Sadie!). Another amazingly supportive person who I appreciate with all of my heart, I love bouncing evil ideas off of her in DMs to enact upon the rest of the party. Excited for our next little scheme >:3

That’s the D&D group covered but I’m not done, if you would believe it. I will take every single chance to be a complete sap about my friends.

More people I met through fandom! I haven’t talked to them as much in recent months, which I’m terribly guilty about, they are all incredible people. @lionydoorin is a wonderful artist and a super sweet person, someone you can always rely on. They’re going to med school and I know they’re going to be fucking amazing in their field. @idyllghost is another rad artist and one of my first really good friends here in Tumblr! He’s so sweet, so funny, and so good at poetry and writing too. An artistic genius in so many ways.

@whiteredrose13 is possibly my oldest internet friend. I think we’re going on?? 5+ years now? Which isn’t much compared to some of y’all, but it’s a lot to me. Rose is one of the kindest, most supportive people in the entire world. She’s so unbelievably patient, listening to me ramble on and on about my D&D campaign and my unfinished writings. Speaking of, because I’m literally surrounded by talent, they are yet another insanely wonderful artist AND writer, with an incredible world and the most lovable OCs ever. Gabe and Ana and their entire family will always live rent free in my brain 🫶

And a special shout-out to the one irl friend who has stuck by me through everything 🫶 Elaina is so kind, so funny, so fucking smart, the best taste in music, one of my favorite people to talk for hours with. I wish we hung out more :,) (Side note, Em I’m realizing the two of you are like two sides of the same coin and would get along so we’ll probably)

If I forgot anyone, know that you are loved in equal measure, I am simply sleepy and functioning on post finals brain fry 🫶

[starchild--27]

Here's A Little Get-To-Know-You Tag Game!

Tagged by: @flaredpantsagenda thank you Mon!! it's been ages since i last did one of these ^-^

Name(s): Selma, Selmi, starchild - whatever you want to call me is fine ^-^ (i have no cool internet name besides 'starchild', maybe i should make one up 🤔)

Pronouns: she/her, but i am fine with any :D

Star Sign: taurus

# Of Siblings & Fun Facts About Them (if you have any): one younger sister who is the best person i know and who -sometimes- people think is my twin? 90% of the people don't see it, but these other 10% keep popping up... (that was the fun fact btw)

# Of Pets: one cat who lives with my parents. he is my son.

Fandoms: i'm most actively involved in my kpop bubble rn (EXO, Stray Kids, aespa mostly atm). also, if you scroll through my blog for 3 seconds, you will see a lot of Good Omens as well. but there are a lot of fandoms i am occasionally or have been very involved in. i still consider myself part of the Percy Jackson fandom (tho i haven't seen the new series yet 🙈), i love Star Wars, Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter (in the JKR loathing and practicing a critical gaze kind of way), i love the neil gaiman universes, i loved the Grishaverse books, my favorite manga is The Case Study of Vanitas and so on and so on... i've been into a lot of things and still feel like i missed out on so many cool other fandoms xD

Favorite Color: blue 🌠

Favorite Song: if i was asked this at gun point, i would be dead- (sorry, i have a hard time picking favourites anyway, and for that one i gave up trying long ago)

Favorite Author: again. there is no way i can pick a favourite. lol sorry for being boring like that but it is what it is. the author i read the most books of might be Haruki Murakami but i wouldn't say i prefer him for any particular reason, i love other writers and their stories just the same amount and for entirely different reasons.

Hobbies: making up stories, chatting with friends, hanging out in tumblr, making music, reading (i wish i did it more again these days..)

Favorite Holiday: 🎃👻

Do You Have Any Partner(s)?: in crime? sure, my besties and group of friends. romantic? nope. (and i am overthinking that)

Fun facts about you/anything extra you wanna share!: i've been into crocheting lately. and made my sister a clown opossum for christmas, which i finished 7pm on christmas eve (bc ofc it was a last minute idea). the most parts i did while binge-watching broadchurch. twice. pro tip: have better time management than i do. xD

Tagging: @vampwrrr @soft-jihoonie @dontbotheraziraphale @groovystrangerree and every mutual and non-mutual who want to do this ^~^

[mortal-cupid]

Some Ways To Emotionally Regulate Yourself

(Note That Everyone Is Different And Regulates Differently. You May Have A Way That Isn't On This Post Or Conventional But If It Works For You Then That's All That Matters)

!! Tip: Implementing Your Regulation Techniques Into Your Life Regularly Even When You Don't Need Them Can Help Them Feel More Natural And Comforting !!

⚠ First Steps ⚠ (Most Important Steps!)

The Very First Thing You Should Do Before You Regulate Is To Try To Get Yourself In As Safe Of A Situation As You Can, This Means A Safe Physical And Social Environment. IF This Cannot Be Readily Available, Do What You Can By Excusing Yourself Or Having A Reliable Person Around You To Help

Make Sure, If Possible/Safe, To Let Yourself Feel!! You Cannot Expect To Regulate Yourself If You Don't Give Yourself A Little Time To FEEL!! I Have Previous Posts On How To Safely Let Yourself Feel, I Do Not Mind Tagging Anyone In That Post Or Making A New One If Anyone Would Like/Need ♡

Some Physical Techniques:

Focusing On What Parts Of Your Body Are Holding The Bad/Stale Feelings And Getting Rid Of It (Imagining Yourself Taking The Feeling And Throwing It Away, Imagining It Turning Into Butterflies And Flying Away, Shaking The Energy Or Feelings Out Of You, Ect)

Stimming (Fidget Tools Can Be Useful But If They Are Not Available Or Helpful You Can: Rock In Place, Press Your Finger Pads Together, Palm Tracing, Slowly Going Through Each Part Of The Body And Releasing Tension In That Area)

Finding Something To Do With Your Hands Such As Coloring/Drawing, Sculpting Or Using Putty/Playdough, Fidgeting, Knitting/Crochet, Writing, Origami, Anything Safe That Keeps Your Hands Busy

There Are MANY Different Breathing Techniques, It May Take A Few Tries To See Which Ones Work For You, If You Decide To Use A Specific Technique, Sometimes Just Breathing On Your Own Without A Technique Is What You May Need.

Chewing On Gum Or "Chewlery" (chewable jewelry)

Tapping On Pressure Points Such As The Face, Hands, Feet, Thighs, And Shoulders

Some Other Techniques:

Grounding Techniques Such As Naming Things You Smell Or Finding Things That Are The Same Color Or Counting Things In Your Surroundings

Mindfully Eating Or Drinking A Safe Food/Drink Or Eating/Drinking Something That Has An Interesting Flavorful That You Can Focus On

Isolation May Help You Regulate And Is A Perfectly Valid Technique When Not Overdone, Be Sure To Communicate In Some Way With Those Who May Need Be Aware Of Your Isolation And Be Sure Not To Overly Rely On Isolation As It May Not Always Be An Option. You Should Always Have Backup Techniques, Especially In An Emergency Situation

Focusing On Or Stimulating Your Senses (Visual: Watching Something, Auditory: Listening To Music Or Specific Sounds, Touch: Stimming Or Using A Textured Sensory Tool, Ect)

Venting (IF/WHEN SAFE TO) Venting Your Emotions Verbally Can Be Very Useful But Has The Potential To Be Harmful If You Are Not Safe. Be Sure That You Are Safe With Whoever You Vent To And That They Are Willing To Be Vented To. If You Are Not Safe To Vent Verbally/Through Text Then Vent To Yourself, A Journal, On An Anonymous Site Or A Site Like "Scream Into The Void", Tell Your Stuffed Animals Or Toys, Your Pets, The Sky, Anything That Will Listen!

( With Love, Cupid ♡ )

[littlethingwithfeathers]

I admit... I just love these...

1. Are you named after anyone?

Storytime.

So I was supposed to be named after both my grandmothers. But one of my grandmothers was like “Don’t name her after me! She’ll sound like an old lady and she’ll hate it!” So my mom said “FINE! If she’s born on your birthday, we won’t name her after you.”

That would put me at two weeks late...

I’m named after the Allman Brothers Song “Sweet Melissa.”

2. When was the last time you cried? Earlier this week. I cry when I get frustrated so it’s a pretty regular thing unfortunately. Big feelings, good or bad, come straight out of my eyeballs.

3. Do you have kids? Nope. Not human ones anyway. Never had a desire to have kids, and I’ve always felt like that’s something you should do with your whole everything.

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot? More than I should.

5. What sports do you play/have played? I never did sports. I attended a basketball camp for about a day and a half before I decided that there was entirely too much yelling. My physical activity of choice was dance and marching band. And eventually hiking.

6. What's the first thing you notice about people? Usually their tone of voice.

7. What's your eye color? green

8. Scary movies or happy endings? Happy endings. of those two. As far as movies go, my preference is for things like spy flicks, heists, action movies, and sometimes a good spooky story (think Sixth Sense and not The Ring).

9. Any special talents? I’m a really good cook. Like not a chef or anything, but like... I can make soup out of anything. I can feed a crowd on a budget. And I’m pretty good at it. I’m also very good at being calm in an emergency. I think it’s actually an anxiety thing... I’m anxious all the time so I’m used to dealing with it and thinking through it.

10. Where were you born? Skipping, sorry.

11. What are your hobbies? Cooking, video games (usually things like Stardew Valley, Darkest Dungeon... more indie stuff than Triple A), crocheting, Magic the Gathering, gardening, and sometimes writing.

12. Do you have pets? I have two cats! Kaylee and Inara. They’re useless and adorable.

13. How tall are you? 5'9"

14. Favorite subject in school? It really depended on the teacher... But I guess it would be history or literature, but I had teachers that made it me hate it desperately. But if I was going to go back to college for a class of my choosing it would probably be philosop

15. Dream job? Honestly... I don’t know anymore. And I’m okay with that. I had a career in theatre for about ten years that I just recently left behind because the industry is acutely toxic locally. (it’s toxic everywhere... but the local scene has its own brand). Right now... honestly I’m enjoying being a homeowner. Like... that’s my job. I keep our house running. And... maybe I’ll get bored with that. And when I do I’ll find something else to do, but until then, I’ll enjoy my little garden and my kitchen and playing video games and doing laundry... honestly I enjoy laundry day more than I enjoyed my old job at the point I quit.  So... yeah. Dunno at this point. Cause I like my life.

I was tagged by @serenitynerd! Mwah, lovely! And I tag... whoever wants to do this. And @hawthorneox, who now must complete due to honor or some shit.

[hakahakaiprincess]

I truly think that every oc creator/person who makes a lot of content for some show/game/movie/etc should really get into some kind of handcraft.

Like i feel the most common types of fanworks ppl make for shows is art or writing (Same for oc worlds) and that's awesome, i'm no exception, but if you're able (Cause i understand if you're not able, in which case I would suggest alternatives, but I can't think of any, so if anyone wants to give alternatives in tags or smth that would be nice) I really do recommend getting into some kind of hobby that lets you Make Things with your Hands (crochet, knitting, sewing, embroidery, doll customs if you have the money (And even if you don't you can always find a way.)).

Because if you do it will: a) allow you a break from drawing or writing or your most common mode of "making content" for ocs or fandoms (I don't at all like that phrase lol)

b) You can make your ocs or their clothes in real life you can TOUCH it you can INTERACT with it (i'm crocheting my oc's sweater over the summer!!!!! doll customizers can make their ocs or their blorbos or whatever!!!! IN REAL LIFE!!!!) and that idea is fucking crazy to me so of course i love it

c) If you're in a rut artistically just do the other handcraft lol!

This is from the point of view of an able-bodied person who draws and crochets primarily and can afford many of the materials for the craft, so there's a lot of stuff I DON'T know about (how disability, income, etc affects this + as simple as other types of handcrafts i dont know about) and I'm okay with admitting that*. I want people to share the joy I have for creation or some shit like that. Actually i want people to understand that you can make your oc's clothes in real life or perhaps even a cotton doll of them. You just have to learn.

*also, i am clumsy with my words, so ask for clarification if you're struggling to understand the post pls!

[pantsaretherealheroes]

for fuck-it friday and the others (again i am slack but i've been writing a lot with my spare time!) thanks so much for your continued tags @cal-daisies-and-briars @jeeyuns :DD

for this one i'm doing two snippets from both of my current projects to make up for all the tags i've missed

under a cut for dash purposes:

snippet one is from the bosh fic, are we still friends, can we be friends?

“I thought you didn’t get on so well with him at dispatch?” Hen asks, shrewdly.  “That was early on,” Eddie protests. “We’re good now. Friendly, even.”  “Hmm.” Hen pops her eyebrows. “What?”  Hen shrugs. “If you say you’re fine, you’re fine. But you can tell me if you’re not.”  Eddie bites his lip and looks around. Buck is still helping Chim clean the truck downstairs. “Ok fine, I’m not super looking forward to it. But that’s more because I don’t really have a good track record here. I mean neither of us have ever really hung out with the person each of us was dating. It’s awkward.”  Hen nods. “No one’s asking you to be best friends. I don’t hang out with just Chim and Maddie that often, but she’s fun to hang out with. And I’ve become pretty good friends with Jordan, Karen’s best friend from college. You just gotta find your commonalities.”  Eddie sighs. “Yeah, Josh and I have things in common. It’ll be…fine.”  “Well, you have one pretty important thing in common,” Hen tells him, and for a moment, he thinks he sees something in her eyes. Those x-ray eyes.  He must look confused, because she continues. “Buck, obviously.”  “Oh, yeah,” he says. Obviously.

and snippet two, from the forthcoming stranger than fiction au (if i can ever finish it!)

Evan Buckley opens his mouth almost incredulously. “Not great, actually. I’m being audited.” Eddie’s not sure what to say to that. It’s not like anyone should enjoy being audited. “By a real dick, too,” Evan Buckley continues, and that feels pointed. And fair. It’s not professional at all to leer at your auditee’s body. “I feel like I owe you an apology,” Eddie offers. “They don’t really value tact or good manners at the IRS, but my Abuela would smack me round the head if she knew how I acted the other day. I’m – I’m sorry.” He doesn’t usually stammer. He puts it down to the weirdness of this week. Evan Buckley’s expression softens at this. He almost smiles. “Apology accepted,” he says. “But only because you stammered.” Eddie tries not to smile too obviously. “So,” he says, trying to think of something to say. “You, uh, catch the bus often?” “Not if I can help it,” Evan Buckley snorts. “But my Jeep’s in the shop, and I have somewhere I need to be.” Eddie’s not sure why he says the next thing. Maybe he’s just feeling confident. “Got some hungry anarchists to feed?” Evan Buckley smiles, the same mischievous kind from the other day. He almost seems curious, even. He leans forward on the separator in front of him, crossing his ams and leaning them on it. He’s really the kind of man that likes to lean in close, Eddie’s starting to realise, if that’s anything that can be realised. “I’m bringing them to my weekly evil conspiracy and needlepoint group,” he says, in a stage whisper, smirking. Something sparkles in his eyes. “You wanna come?” Eddie isn’t sure this is at all a real offer. But even if it was, an auditor can’t hang out with their auditee. No matter how much, in the moment, they’d love it to be a genuine offer. To put off everything in their life that needs their attention – for an hour or two and follow their auditee somewhere new. He smiles, apologetically. “I would but, I, uh, left my socialist reading material and crochet needles at home.”

thanks guys this is fun to do <3

[lexiklecksi]

15 questions, 15 mutuals (tag game)

Thanks for tagging me @captain-kraken and @novel-emma @elizaellwrites

1. Are you named after anyone?

Nope, my name is so unique that I've never even met somebody who has the same name as I do.

2. When was the last time you cried?

Probably just a few days ago ... I cry a lot when I'm stressed or very anxious. I'm currently studying for my exams, so it's a constant stage of being on the verge of crying to relief some stress.

3. Do you have kids?

Oh gosh no, I feel too young and immature for that. But I am getting married next year, so who knows what the future might bring? I can't imagine having kids yet, but I have no idea how future me thinks.

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

Yes, to the point where my general tone sounds sarcastic and people think I am being sarcastic when I'm actually serious, which is annoying for everyone involved in a conversation with me.

5. What’s the first thing you notice about people?

Their eyes (You know, window to the soul) and then their hands (Do they work with their hands? Are their hands rough, soft, pretty, moisturized?).

6. What’s your eye colour?

Brown is the short answer, but let me be poetic about it because I am a writer and brown eyes deserve better descriptions:

"When the sunlight hits my eyes directly, they shine light brown with golden specks like forest honey. On cloudy days, they are hazelnut or chestnut brown, like a beautiful walk in the forest. When the light is dim, my eyes seem dark brown like melted chocolate."

7. Scary movies or happy endings?

I can't watch scary movies, I get easily spooked, and every jump scare makes me scream so loud the neighbours might call the police. But I'm not a big fan of happy endings either, I like bittersweet endings that make you swoon and mourn at the same time.

8. Any special talents?

Err not that I can think of? Does being neurodivergent count? I mean being able to recognize patterns, see little details others miss, daydream a whole book, feeling connected to the universe, think nonlinear and in many circles about 5 different topics simultaneously, talk for hours with a good friend about everything all at once. Though sometimes, all this feels more like a curse rather than special talents.

9. Where were you born?

In the most beautiful city of the world: Munich!

10. What are your hobbies?

Oh I've got too many hobbies, but they are all about getting creative and creating something. Writing poetry, short stories and rarely my ya fantasy novel, painting with watercolour or acrylics, crocheting useful stuff or stuffed animals, making jewellery, collecting stuff (sea shells, gem stones, etc.) and use it as room decoration. I don't know if designing stuff counts since it's my field of study and work, but I also like to design as a hobby. Should I show more of my creations on my tumblr blog?

I'm tagging @eos109 @azriel-alexander-holmes @soonshuas @holdenmarrswritings @silversynthesis @cirianne @simkarta333 @nerdragons-hoard @forever-and-almost-always and whoever wants to talk about themselves!

[alsolowkeynostalgic]

MI6 Cafe Creators Tag Game

(Thanks for the tag, @emiliasilverova, this is my very untimely response lol)

We’d love for people to keep getting to know each other after this year’s 007 Fest, so we’re starting this tag game!

Rules: Answer the questions, then tag 3 new people to complete this. Also, tag the person who tagged you and @mi6-cafe so we can reblog your response.

Note that when we say ‘fanwork’ in the questions below, that could mean a fanfic, gif, fanart, headcanon, cosplay, crocheted work---any kind of fancreation counts!

1. What work of yours challenged you when you were creating it? 

Everything I create, especially writing, challenges me in some way.

My part of Juggling Act, the 007 Fest Round Robin, was one of the most challenging pieces of writing I've ever had to write. I'm a slow writer, so having only 24 hours to come up with a coherent follow-up to what came before me was difficult, but very rewarding.

2. What is a fanwork you’ve seen which gave you a new headcanon about a character?   

@jellymish-art's whole body of work, but especially pieces like this one, 100% sold me on the trans!Bond headcanon. I feel like trans!Q is a lot more common so I'm sharing some love for 007.

3. Is there a fanwork that you really want to make, but you haven’t started yet?

Many, but for the two that I think will eventually happen:

a 00Leiter fic during Quantum of Solace, based on their exchange at the bar

a collection of 00Leiter vignettes through the different incarnations of Leiter and 007, told from Leiter's POV

4. What fanwork of yours surprised you, and how?

No Longer My Concern, an alternate universe fic where M is a medium, set during Skyfall. I'd never remixed somebody else's fic before, but deadicateddeath's AU was so intriguing it almost wrote itself.

5. What themes/styles/subjects are common across many of your fanworks?

Angst, loss, and bittersweet tenderness. My partner described my style as "consistently smart and understated" and I strive for every piece to be worthy of that compliment.

6. What other fandoms do you create for, if any?

None at the moment. Other than Bond, I mainly write original fiction.

7. Is there an artist that you like to listen to while you create? Or one whose work always inspires you?

I'm not married to a specific artist, or collection of artists, but I often find myself coming back to Rammstein. Lots of angsty pieces were drawn or written listening to them.

8. Share a fanwork that you’ve found yourself thinking about weeks after reading/seeing it.

This edit of CR, QoS and Skyfall set to Somebody to Die For by Hurts. I've watched it dozens of times and it never fails to make me cry. Beautiful edit set to a beautiful song.

9. Finally, share where you post your works!

ao3: lowkeynostalgic

tumblr: lowkeynostalgic

side blog: alsolowkeynostalgic

and I sometimes contribute to Licence to Queer

Tagging: no one because at this point everyone should have done it already 🤭

[evolutionsbedingt]

15 Questions 15 Minutes

Thank you for the tag @shakespearerants! What an excellent way to take a break from reading a complicated linguistics paper!

1. Are you named after anyone?

Alas, I'm not. Thinking about stealing my dad's nickname though.

2. When was the last time you cried?

Yesterday around noon, grief comes out of nowhere sometimes

3. Do you have kids?

Nope.

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

Whatever made you think that.

5. What sports do you play/have played?

None, to the aggravation of my poor constitution. I should probably get into something....

6. What's the first thing you notice about someone?

Clothing style and body language, usually gives me a pretty good guess of their personality too.

7. Eye colour?

Greenish - brownish.

8. Scary movies or happy endings? (also, had to hunt down this question from the prev-prev-tagging person)

Oh, definitely happy endings. I don't do scary films on principle.

9. Special talents?

Eh - does being a jack of all trades count as a special talent? It's damn unlikely that I'll master anything but I pick basics of languages up really easily, taught myself basic sewing, knitting, crocheting and embroidering, can make up simple meals from scratch and bake decently along to recipes (though pies are my declared enemies).

So yeah, give me ten to fifteen minutes and I'll learn the basics, but I'll never master it (ADHD sucks)

10. Where were you born?

In my hometown :P

11. What are your hobbies?

Writing, reading, watching series (and accidentally picking up bits of languages), baking, sewing, sending care packages to friends and occasionally remembering that I have an affinity for musical instruments.

12. Do you have pets?

I technically own a cat but she lives with my mum. I still consider her mine though <3

13. How tall are you?

Not tall enough

14. Favourite subject in school?

I almost never have a singular favourite of anything. I liked languages and art subjects, but also history and biochemistry. Would have loved the natural sciences more if I wasn't so bloody atrocious at maths.

15. Dream job?

At this point? Hell if I know. I love researching, but I'm not sure whether my brain is up to a life in academia. I love working with my hands but my body isn't exactly getting better so... We'll see. Let's survive this Master's degree first.

Tagging: @rowanofferelden and @colubrina, if you're feeling up for it! :)

[oddwriter]

15 questions 15 mutuals

Tagged by my sweet @exlibrisfangirl, thank you love 💛

1. Are you named after anyone? YES! Maria von Trapp and Maria from West Side Story. I swear to god if you start singing either Maria-song I will punch you. You need a special license for that.

2. When was the last time you cried? Now as I'm writing my exam paper. . . rip

3. Do you have kids? no, but I do currently work as an intern in a kindergarten in my journey to be a pedagogue/educator for kids from 0-6 years old, and they're plenty atm.

4. What sports do you play/have you played? badminton when I was younger, and danced some mtv/funk at some point

5. Do you use sarcasm? with added ✨ sparkles ✨

6. What’s the first thing you notice about someone? what vibe they give off. Call it neurodivergency radar

7. What’s your eye color? blue like a scandinavian child

8. Scary movies or happy endings? angst with a happy ending anytime

9. Any talents? writing, the ability to disassociate within seconds, does that count? make an insane amount of playlist when I don't need to. Can also do needlecraft like knitting, crochet and embroidery. Can be very efficient when time needs it, but right now I don't wanna do anything so the efficiency is looooow

10. Where were you born? Copenhagen, DK almost 29 years ago

11. What are your hobbies? writing, knitting, music, world building, play video games, storytelling in any format

12. Do you have any pets? no, just the fruit-flies I can't get rid off atm

13. How tall are you? 1.68m

14. Favorite subject in school? Classics. A real sucker for Ancient Greece and the mythology.

15. Dream job? I think it's pretty much established that I should be a writer

This was a fun act of procrastination, so I think the next should do some procrastination too!

@an-anonymous-friend, @soldmymoralstothedevil, @thatpandayouknow, @thelovelyreader, @carry-on-my-wayward-wuffles, @notdeadjack, @dianaothemyscira, @otterlyrandom, @gabavaldman, @dollopheadedmerlin, @electoons, @nimji-s, and anyone else who feel the need to do something they shouldn't be focusing on <3

[pheita]

All about this Writblr

Through some strange circumstances, I realized I didn't posted an intro post for the last 1 1/2 years. And here I am wondering why interactions are fading....yeah don't say a word. About me: I am 39 years old, which means I am sort of a “grandma” on Tumblr given the fact how many young folks and teenagers are around here. I am a spoonie. The list of illnesses is long, and I spare you to read it all, but I can say so far it is a “lovely” mix of mental and physical stuff with chronic pain being the main culprit. So, there will be times I might need days to answer something or skip over writing games because I simply don't have the energy. Identifying as bisexual and demisexual for over a decade, I start to question a lot about myself some time ago because of some discussions I had with friends. Since childhood, I always counted as a tomboy because I have zero interest in the drawer's society like to use. So I came to use the term queer. So, don't come at me about the whole queer is a slur thing. Every term used in the LGBTQA+ community was used as a slur at one point, so chill. Listing all the shows and stuff I like would take a lot of time, so I spare us all this long list. I am always in for fantasy, sci-fi, supernatural or thriller shows/movies and books. When I am not writing I either create jewelry with epoxy resin or wire, go swimming, draw when I can, like to play videogames and discovered book binding for myself, kn it and crochet. I am notorious for starting new WIPs or switching through the started WIPs since I only can write them when I feel them in some way. It is less an interest/motivation thing for me. You can always find the WIPs I work on in a pinned post on my blog. Even when the main couple are male/female you can bet your ass on the fact they are never heteronormative. Straight characters became a rare thing in my writing when we talk about the main cast. So always assume my main cast is LGBTQA+ in some shape. My three main WIPs I work to various degrees on are Blood Night, the first book in the Cursed Book series, a fantasy novel, found family, sins of the father, finding out who you are, slow burn mlm romance (which will develop into poly relationship throughout the series), strong sibling bonds, demi-romantic pansexual male lead who is actual a lust demon world inspired by Monster Hunter games, Dragon Age games, The Witcher Flowers of Fire, a modern fantasy/erotica novel with polyamory, found family, fated warriors (we don't do fated lovers here), young vs old conflict, and a female lead who is a nymph, changing between two POV world inspired by myths from all around the world, Lost Girl, No Rest for the Wicked first book of the Queen of Hell series, supernatural romance, slow burn romance, sins of the past, finding your path, deaking with a life as chronical ill person, changing between 3 POV two of them female. inspired by Lucifer (it was a out of spite reaction to season 3) I will use the community labels where necessary, so some of the snippets will be tagged as mature. If you want to at least notice if I post something, you should at least blur it. I will always put warnings ahead what to expect. Since I ironically started writing more NSFW shortly before the community labels became a thing, there is a side-blog run by me where I post NSFW short stories. If anyone is interested.

[violaobanion]

15 questions and 15 mutuals

thank you for tagging me, @springsteens 🤍

were you named after anyone?

nope, but people always assume that haha. my parents speak two very different dialects of norwegian and apparently my name is pronounced somewhat the same in both, so they went with it. my dad has also mentioned that one of his criterias when naming any of his children was that it should be yellable lol and mine is)

when was the last time you cried?

define "cried". there's been a while since my last ugly cry, but for instance i rewatched The Pursuit of Love the other day for a gifset and it made me cry (as always).

do you have kids?

No, I have plants.

do you use sarcasm a lot?

I did. but i wasn't aware of just HOW sarcastic i actually was until a girl kindly pointed it out to me (she truly was kind about it), and it made me look long and hard in the mirror and i decided to be more sincere, as the sarcasm was clearly a defense mechanism.

what's the first thing you notice about people?

depends on whether i hear or see them first. but if i see them it's their clothes and hair, and then mannerisms next. i love observing people's mannerisms <3

what's your eye color?

blue/grey

scary movies or happy endings?

neither??? or sometimes i guess i want happy endings, but if there's no need and there is one i always get annoyed. more than anything i want a story to make sense and be true to itself (and the characters). scary movies? no thanks.

any special talents?

i'm left handed lol. and i can wiggle my nostrils (one at a time too)

where were you born?

norway

what are your hobbies?

embroidery, crocheting, gif making, plants, sending tiktoks to my friends, and spending several years reading the same goddamn book (it's 800 pages, but still...)

have any pets?

a cat

what sports do you play/have you played?

well i only run when i'm late for the bus, so.... yeah no but really i've never been the athletic kind. if gif making was a sport, that would be my sport. oh and i'm very fond of walking, so sometimes i go on hikes :)

how tall are you?

175cm

favorite subject in school?

arts & crafts, history, math

dream job?

the kind where i can fill my days with whatever i feel like and not worry about money. aka i can work on my hobbies 24/7 but also they're not my source of income, you know? rn i think making it big on the stock market is my only option.... (i'm working on it)

no pressure, do it if you want to: @aemonds-sapphire, @goatsandgangsters, @thesoldiersminute, @zablife, @peakysgrace, @fairytalesandfandoms, @slowdiscco, @metronomeblue (not 15 people lol sorry)